9 - Matthews 24:36

“Excellent job.”

“Yes, you did well. The data is valuable too.”

“In that case, it appears that the only option left is to exterminate them altogether. Remain on standby and retreat back to Krakow.”

Kaito’s responses were brief. He put the phone down and took a deep breath. The whiteboard in his office hadn’t been cleaned for quite some time, the image with splatters of blood decorating it was rampaging through Kaito’s mind without a pause. Bleak beams of the rising sun entered the room, granting the leader of the GSC a heavenly shine.

“Not many soulfuls have the ability to perceive, persist in or even manipulate digital spaces. It is the luxury to creep into a computer’s hardware, construct a program that establishes a domain under the soulful’s authority, and use soul prowess to effectively manipulate the space or to transfer the soul into it.”

“The threat that had just been neutralized, Yuuka Hoshikawa...and I assume Sakuto Hitori through his adaptation. These are the only soulfuls I know of that can do that.”

“It is thanks to Yuuka’s own extremely unusual nature that we managed to counter the threat. A soulful who could use their soul expression to hack into not only soul-related entities but also regular technology, while at the same time establishing a digital space?”

“The Eura stronghold is upping its voltage. It's getting ready for war.”

He kept cracking the knuckles on his hands regardless of what all the doctors and chiropractors told him. He looked at the various papers scattered on his desk, all of which would derail his perfect future if exposed. And on his fingertips was a small fire. A little flame that he played around with.

“Mr. Kamiki?” Miyuki asked, entering the office. “May I?”

“Go on.” Kaito replied, his face projecting his rather aggressive mood.

“The transfer has been successful.” Miyuki said, slightly bowing down. “Hiroshi is now located in a secure area in Krakow, close to Heisei’s Rin.”

“Good.” Kaito said, slowly standing up. He took one more look at the papers, they were mostly empty, but each one of them had that mysterious shape drawn on them. They looked like they were supposed to serve as the foundation of great schematics or in-depth analysis, but the subject which they were meant to explore appeared so difficult that the initiative was halted. Perhaps they were the source of Kaito’s frustration.

“Mr. Kamiki, Hiroshi wants to speak to you.” Miyuki said. “He said that he misses you. He wants to know why you had to order him to move out-”

“Miyuki, can you not handle that situation?” Kaito asked, his eyes releasing an aggravated glare that stabbed right through Miyuki’s fragile heart. “Talk to him. Help him with something if he needs help.”

“You are, by all means, his father.” Miyuki said, even he was surprised at himself for disagreeing with his boss. “I believe it is right that you talk to him.”

“You believe it is right? Go on then, believe as much as you want, and get out.” Kaito said. A few moments later, he closed his eyes and took a deep breath. “I retract my words. That may have been out of line.”

Miyuki, confused, gave him a slight nod.

“Connect him to me.” Kaito said. “I’ll deal with his antics.”

“Right.” Miyuki quickly dialed a number on his phone. A few seconds of awkward silence later, a happy and young voice was heard from the other side. Miyuki, after quickly introducing himself, handed his phone to Kaito.

“What do you want?” Kaito asked, a strict contrast to Hiroshi’s happy-go-lucky voice and excitement. “Are there any problems? Are you safe?”

“I’m safe, but...that’s not the thing. Dad, why did you send me here? You said we were gonna start spending some time together, right?”

“Hiroshi, there are legitimate security concerns.” Kaito replied, his frustration growing more apparent. “There are many people in this world that want to harm you. I had to leave you in a secure area while I myself took care of business.”

This text was taken from NovelBin. Help the author by reading the original version there.

“But-”

“Do you have your explanation?” Kaito interrupted.

“Y-yes...”

“In that case, I have nothing more to tell you.”

“Wait, dad!” Hiroshi quickly yelled into the phone. “How long is this gonna go on? I’m missing school.”

“I’ll hire you a tutor.”

“I...I miss seeing my friends...”

“I’m sure you know how a phone works. You can call them.”

“Dad, I...I wanna live a normal life!” Hiroshi said. “I don’t wanna be hidden in a bunker all the time just because I’m your son, you know? I don’t want that!”

“You...want...a normal life?” Kaito finally lost his temper. “Do you even know...”

Miyuki interrupted that conversation. He snatched the phone out of Kaito’s hands and quickly hung up. He was proud of himself for doing so, he possibly saved Hiroshi from hearing words that he shouldn’t hear, especially coming from his father.

“Miyuki?” Kaito asked, calm and genuinely confused.

“I could not let you d-d-do that, Mr. Kamiki.” Miyuki said. “He has suffered enough. I c-can’t let you-”

“You cut off communication between me and Hiroshi, who let you do that?” Kaito went around his desk and approached Miyuki, who, terrified as a carrot, kept slowly retreating. Eventually, Kaito grabbed Miyuki by his neck and picked him up. “Is there something I don’t know about you? Why did you interfere?”

“He’s your...son...” Miyuki said, trying to catch his breath. “T-t-treat him with...argh...dignity! Like f-family”

“There’s not a drop of my blood in his veins.” Kaito said, throwing Miyuki away, as if tossing a bag of trash into the garbage bin. The latter made the fall and quickly stood up, getting even further from Kaito and closer to the exit.

“And still, you are his father.” Miyuki said. “You promised to be there for him. You healed him from a comatose state right after-”

“I did not hire you to be a family counselor or a psychiatric analyst. Being my most trusted subordinate does not imply that I asked for your advice.” Kaito said. “Now please leave. I have left you a set of tasks to complete while I will be away.”

“I will, but...” Miyuki said. He was starting to get overwhelmed by Kaito’s presence, despite working as his assistant ever since the GSC’s foundation. “Don’t treat your son like an object.”

“He’s not an object to me, that you can be assured of.” Kaito said, essentially shooing him away.

Miyuki, upset and even on the verge of crying, left the office.

“I’ve spent way more time with Hiroshi than Kaito. He’s more my son than his. He’s a good boy, and he definitely deserves what he’s asking for. I can’t imagine what it’s like being him.”

Kaito took another good look at the whiteboard.

“The ‘Central Element’”

“That is the only thing I can think of that represents the cross, the middle.”

“The phenomena that I was attracted to and had to spend quite a lot of time and effort in acquiring and keeping. As long as it is safe, there is nothing I need to worry about.”

“However, the six sides...they each represent an errand that needs to be taken care of.”

He left his office.

“Do you hear me?”

“Please...I need to hold your hand.” Kaito spoke seemingly to himself.

“What do I need to-”

Alas, the revelation came to him.

“Hiroshi’s safety is guaranteed, especially if Sakuto Hitori is in the area. The Eura stronghold will not be able to infiltrate into the city. I cannot waste another second.”

“It is about time I crush the strongholds one by one.”

Kaito clenched his fists, being overtaken by a sense of panic and even anxiety. A lone drop of sweat ran down his throat, as the air around him felt slightly colder than typical.

“The structure of the stronghold operation was not a coincidence. It was something I had come up with, and naturally, it was something influenced by my soul and my soul expression.”

“Alby Stirrock’s death, as much as it is an unfortunate circumstance, can be bypassed. After all, before Diego’s death, he was the one I made responsible for the Ocea stronghold.”

“I get it now.”

“One side of the hexagon is already complete.”

Kaito took a few sharp breaths and recollected himself. He marched forward and made a phone call.

“Yuuka, did you locate them?”

“Aww, if it isn’t a favor for Mr. Kamiki~ w I’m honored to say I did!” Yuuka’s happy yet very tired voice replied. “No matter the secure channels they use, one of their little buddies made a little slip-up.”

“Where are they?”

“Somewhere in Northern Africa...” Yuuka giggled. “It’s a bit difficult to pinpoint the location, but I can send you a list of possible coordinates.”

“That will be satisfactory.” Kaito, pleased with the response, hung up.

“I'll test if this internal radar of mine really works.”