12 - Third Godkill Planning Meeting

“Forget the formalities and the introductions.” Mukawa said. He looked dead tired, like he hadn’t slept for days on end. “I’m here to finally answer the question that you’ve been so eager to hear the reply to.”

“We are moving out in two hours sharp.” Mukawa said. “Due to the circumstances that we found out earlier today, we need to act as fast as possible.”

To his surprise, the dense silence remained unimpeached.

“I said, we’re moving out in two hours.” Mukawa repeated. “We’ve gone through the battle plans, we’ve discussed how we will get there and what we will do, we know what type of message we’ll send to Kaito. Say your prayers if you’re religious and prepare to move out.”

“So just like that?” Haruki asked. A clash between them was declared. “Can you tell us why we’re moving out?”

“Because every second we don’t, people are going to die.” Mukawa said. “Come on, hurry up. We don’t have any time to spare.”

Nobody replied.

“Right, I’ll say it for all the idiots here.” Mukawa said, already losing his patience. “Every second we sit here and play with our dicks, hundreds or thousands of people that have nothing to do with this are getting slaughtered. If that’s not enough to convince you-”

“What happened to waiting for Sakuto and Ichika to awaken?” Zawadski asked.

“We don’t have that type of time.” Mukawa said.

“Bullshit.” Haruki quickly refuted the claim. “Rin, what is the most positive estimate?”

“Up to two weeks is the most positive one.” Rin replied.

“Two weeks.” Haruki said. “He said a hundred thousand per day, right? Times fourteen, that gives us just short of one and a half million.”

“What? What are you...”

“Which means that if we let one and a half million people die...” Haruki interrupted Mukawa. “We will have the best chance at saving the rest.”

“You want to kill millions.” Mukawa said. “That’s not going to happen. Not ever. We’re moving out today, in two hours sharp. Now, everyone, get whatever equipment and preparation you have. Prepare to leave. I’ll wait by the outer circle.”

But unfortunately for him, nobody moved a muscle. Everyone held onto their agreement, even Ichigo, who had immense difficulty in doing so.

“You’re...why are you not doing what I’m telling you to do?” Mukawa asked. “H-h-hold on, what the fuck are you doing?!”

“We’re not gonna let you kill yourself, Mukawa.” Kana said.

“You’re...”

“You know well that we need more time to prepare.” Sofia said. “I can assure you that nobody here will follow your orders.”

“Oh what is this, a fucking coup?” Mukawa asked. “Save that for later, matter of fact, I’ll let you take turns stabbing me once we’re done with this. But don’t turn this operation into a circus now.”

“Guys...”

“I’m sorry, but you worked with Otto Richter, didn’t you?” Zawadski asked, a little annoyed himself. “What’s this bullshit about saving lives now, he was getting people killed by the dozens and you happily followed his orders!”

“That was a different circumstance.” Mukawa said, biting his lip out of anger. “You think I could stop him?!”

“Guys, please...”

“M-Mukawa, please...” Asami sounded like she was pleading. “Don’t do anything-”

“Anything what? Stupid? Dangerous?” Mukawa asked.

“Anything that might ruin the only chance you have of succeeding.” Zervos spoke up. “I apologize. We have listened to you, but now it is time for you to listen to us.”

“No, you are the ones who need to listen to me.” Mukawa said, his voice getting louder and louder. “I am the one tasked with leading this operation, which means everything that we do is my call. If you disagree, then feel free to fuck off! Make sure to lick Kaito’s shoes while you’re at it too!”

“As stubborn as ever, I see.” Haruki said. “You’re not gonna go there alone.”

“I will. Fucking try me.” Mukawa said. “Unlike you, I have it in me to do so.”

“And why’s that?”

“Because I don’t want people to-”

“Everyone, can you listen to me for once?!” Junior said, his voice suddenly becoming the loudest in the room. Nobody expected him to make a statement like that, even Mukawa acted surprised.

“We...can’t let this go on for longer.” Junior said, walking up to Mukawa and standing next to him. “We can’t!”

“...what?” Haruki was surprised.

“I can’t let my father’s wishes just disappear because of minor disagreements or strategic announcements.” Junior said. “I...I spoke to him today. I saw him in a dream. He...he told me that he did what he did in order to make sure neither the Eura stronghold nor Naja were a danger.”

The room was filled with a confused silence.

“He...he headed to the Eura stronghold, alone, with the aim to eliminate its head.” Junior spoke up. “And something happened to him there, I uhh...the people who killed him are in this room right now, but...I refuse to believe that he would attack the Heisei, especially the way he did, but...”

“Oh shit, right...this guy’s dad...” Zawadski thought.

“But he did what he did because he believed in protecting people!” Junior exclaimed. “It doesn’t matter if it was me, I’m certain if he didn’t even have me, he would’ve done what he did! He had the balls to go to one of the most cursed places on this planet alone, and you guys, with all your...plans and abilities, you’re too scared?”

Suddenly he sounded convincing...and even powerful.

“I refuse to let this happen!” Junior said. “I...I want to fulfil my father’s wishes. Maybe it was just a dream, but it made me understand that we...have to try! Even if it sounds stupid, he...he sacrificed himself so we can be here, and we can’t do as much as fight for what he stood for?!”

NovelBin is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author.

Mukawa himself was silent this whole time. He let Junior control the room, his soul presence was growing. It seems like the audience was captured by his speech, held hostage even. Ichigo was on the verge of joining the two on stage, and Jian would probably follow suit if that happened.

“I’m going to go there alongside Mukawa!” Junior said. “I want to fight. I agree with him, enough people have died already. I don’t want them to die. Because they...they’re people, just like us. They’ll feel just like how we feel when we lose someone who is close to us-”

“Wait, sorry to interrupt your speech, but...” Haruki said. “You said you came to these realizations because you talked to your late father, right?”

“Yes, that’s...what happened.” Junior said. “I talked to him in a dream. I think-”

“A dream, huh?” Haruki said, shaking his head in both anger and disappointment. “A fucking dream, huh, Mukawa?!”

Suddenly, the room wasn’t just silent, but also confused.

“You used your soul expression on him, didn’t you?” Haruki stood up. “No, this is...you’re fucking desperate, Mukawa. That’s what you are.”

“Soul...expression?” Zervos quietly asked.

“Yes. His soul expression. The one that lets him inject dreams into people.” Haruki said. “For fuck sake, Mukawa! Look at this desperate shit that you’re trying to pull off, you’re in no position to lead this operation!”

Mukawa stared at him in anger, looking like a student who got exposed for cheating on a test. He stared so hard that his soul presence spiked for a few seconds, flaring up like he was about to go to war.

But after he took a deep breath, it calmed down.

“You’re right.” Mukawa said. “I did use my soul expression on him. You’re completely right. And yes, I am desperate.”

Haruki was taken by surprise by those words. So much so that he was willing to listen.

“But my despair has a reason.” Mukawa said. “Every single second that we spend here, people are getting killed by something that they cannot do anything against.”

“I want you to think, how would you feel if you were in their situation? If you were a simple soulless nobody, and you suddenly got ambushed by a creature with insurmountable power that just...didn’t care about you at all. It would kill your friends, family, even your enemies, and eventually, it would kill you.”

“It would be painful, wouldn’t it? All of your dreams, ambitions, everything you love, hate or are interested in, everything just...vanishes. You don’t know what your next destination is, you just know that your life is over. Why? Because you’re just...collateral damage. You’re a sacrifice. You’re a part of a larger, calculated sequence of events.”

“You can be angry all you want, it wouldn’t matter. Your life, all the important things you had and wanted to do, all of them would be taken away. And you wouldn’t be able to do a single thing. The only thing you can do is watch as everything fades to white. Hell, the afterlife might not even be real. Everything would fade to black and then...well, nobody knows. So I want to ask this to all of you...”

“What would you do if you could do something about it?” Mukawa asked. Everyone was listening attentively, he managed to grab their attention with great success.

“We’re soulfuls. We’re the supernatural of the supernatural. And we have the power to act. Even if it’s a demonic creature like Kaito, we can still act. We’re not powerless.” Mukawa continued. “We can be the power that all of the people at risk are desperate for.”

“It’s our responsibility as humans to protect other humans. Before the GSC turned into a war machine for Kaito’s games and plans, it was, at least on paper, an organization that would help the world. It would moderate all soulfuls and assure that the already hateful and messed up world becomes a better place. Did it? Hell no. But that shouldn’t be important to us.”

“No matter how shitty the world is, it is our duty as human beings to help other humans.” Mukawa said.

The silence was powerful.

“Some of you have soulless friends. Some of you have family members, neighbours, employees, fans...whatever it is. Every one of them is a human too, just like you. They may not have soul prowess, but they do have a heart like you. You cannot let them die. If you do not fight right now, they will perish, and you will never look at yourself in the mirror again without feeling soul-crushing guilt and powerlessness.”

“Sure, it is a shame that we cannot have our two strongest soulfuls fighting alongside us.” Mukawa explained. “But we also cannot let so many other people die. If we are the only ones capable of stopping that demon, we will do that, whatever it takes. Even if it means fighting an uphill battle, with the odds of victory being one to a million. Even if it means risking our lives or even sacrificing ourselves in the name of victory. Even if it means our efforts are never recognized and soulfuls as a whole are forever a species of monsters in the eyes of the soulless.”

“What matters is we’d do the right thing.”

“And right now, the only right thing to do is to stop Kaito Kamiki.” Mukawa said. “Right now. We eliminate him and put an end to all the calamities that his presence has caused. We’ll finally have an actual shot at creating the world we want to live in, that being one where mankind wins. Not soulfuls, not the soulless, but humanity. This is our last chance to create that world.”

“I’m moving out in two hours.” Mukawa said. “If you want to, you can follow me. If not, that’s fine, just make sure to never call yourselves people again.” He concluded his speech, already looking like he was ready to leave.

“I’ll follow you.” Ichigo said, suddenly standing up. “You’re right. We can’t allow ourselves to make sacrifices like that anymore.”

“Ichigo...?” Zawadski wondered.

“There’s people that will die that I am close to.” Ichigo said. “There’s good people, just like the people I know, that are already getting killed. I just...I can’t just sit back and watch.”

“I will follow you.” Jian said.

“Eh? You too?” Zawadski was in awe.

“Yes.” Jian said. “It is a captain’s duty to protect the soldiers.”

“Shit, well, I guess me and Yuuka will join you too.” Zawadski shrugged. “Hey, can’t leave you alone now, can I?”

“It appears you’ve won their opinions.” Zervos said. “I agree to participate in the operation.”

“I agree as well.” Rin said.

Mukawa watched with a smile. He looked over at his own group.

“Are you sure?” Haruki asked. “This is...a suicide mission at best.”

“Being a traitor while being a part of the intelligence agency...that’s an even worse mission, but we’ve done it for quite some time, haven’t we?” Mukawa asked.

“I guess...we can’t leave you alone either.” Haruki sighed.

“I knew you’d have my back. Thank you.” Mukawa said. “Everyone! We’re moving out in two hours sharp! Get some quick rest, take a nap if you need to. Make sure you’re fresh.”

Mukawa watched the crowd that was scheming against him follow his orders. He watched his own speech change their minds with such ease that it felt like he flipped a switch in all of them. Maybe he just got lucky.

After all, it was easy talking to a crowd that was asleep.

“ ✦ Divine Acclamation... ✦ ”

Mukawa’s breathing was slow and deep, his concentration was unbreakable and he remained undisturbed.

“ ✦ Vivid Daydream Cemetary. ✦ ”

“I told you guys that using divine acclamations is as good as exposing the missions.”

“What I didn’t tell you, however, is just how good I am at concealing mine. Even if Kaito was on the same continent as us, even if he was just a few hundred or dozen kilometers away, he wouldn’t be able to sense a thing.”

“It’s normally possible to protect yourself from the effects of my divine acclamation if you’re proficient enough at reinforcing your soul and partially your mind and perception, but none of you expected this.”

“That’s how badly I caught all of you off guard.”

Everyone who was during the meeting was sound asleep. Some snoozing, some talking in their sleep, some asleep in peace. He called a few of the locals outside and told them to carry each of them to their respective tents, he assured them that they wouldn’t wake up or put up a fight.

A dark grayish halo with light purple hues lingering around it hovered over Mukawa’s head.

“You’ll all remember this as a successful meeting.”

“One during which you all agreed to carry out the raid exactly when I wanted you to. And yes, I did prepare for this. I thought someone who knows this as well as you know me, Haruki, would sense foul play in Alby Jr.’s speech.”

“But deep down, you all know that I’m right. We can’t just sit back while people get slaughtered.”

“I’ll save the apologizing for later if the secret ever gets out. But I’d rather act and then apologize instead of failing to convince you to act.”

After the room was emptied, he headed out to the room where Sakuto was.