Chapter 16 - Briefing
~Demonic Emperor's Palace, 10 hours before.~
The morning sun shone brightly in the sky as the rays illuminated through the giant 5-meter office glass window.
Squad 0 had just arrived in the office of His Majesty, Helio after receiving the brief instructions for their next group mission.
"Commander Alastair and squad 0, greets Your Majesty," Alastair bowed his head, dropping on one knee as everybody else followed suit.
"Rise,"
They rose.
"Squad 0's next mission. It might be extremely risky but I'm willing to take it." Heliro began with a small grin on his face, his hands crossed on the desk as he looked each member of the squad in the eye.
He pulled out a giant map of the world and laid it on his table.
"Our world, Eiden, consists of 3 different Continents. Arianic, Brenstine, and Harpasile. The Our Demonic Empire currently has control of the whole of the western border of the Arianic Continent. The rest of this continent is ruled by humans. Namely the Nelstrol, Kresian, and the Vasage Kingdoms." Heliro explained, pointing at each kingdom respectively. "Your task is to infiltrate the Vesage Kingdom's ranks. Gain information on any prisoners they've recently captured."
He slowly pushed multiple binders along the table, "These are the positions I need you all to fill."
In the binder were 5 pieces of paper. Each titled with a different role, their position within the Kingdom, and all the basic details;
Court Magician – Master Sage
Position Required: 2
The Kingdom's personal magician. They serve directly under the king to assist and protect the people
Vesage Kingdom Knight – Supreme Knight
Position Required: 2
The Kingdom's personal army. They serve as the frontline during enemy attacks and conquering other kingdoms.
Adventurer Guild – SS Ranked Adventurer
Position Required: 3
Adventurers have the freedom to choose missions to complete and gain money from the mission they choose. They must buy and supply all equipment by themselves.
The Ten Conquerors – One of the 10 Conquerors
Position Required: 1
The mightiest underground organization within the Kingdom. They control 85% of all underground activities and markets within the 3 human kingdoms of the Arianic Continent. The 10 leaders are called the Ten Conquerors, each possessing a particular codename with which they address each other.
The Council – One of the 5 Elders
Position Required: 1
The council works as advisors for the king. They also have the power to give command to the people in place of the king. The 5 elders are permitted to assist the King directly during confidential meetings and are considered the King's Right-Hand Men.
Within the binder were also multiple ID cards of each squad member; their human disguised appearance printed on the top right corner.
"These are your IDs. Memorize all the information that's written on the card. You will need to report back to me every month on any new information you received. I will give you half a day to decide amongst yourself the roles you are willing to take."
"Your Highness, how long exactly are we infiltrating for and what information are we trying to obtain?" Tonia asked, after looking through the binder.
Heliro smiled and raised a hand, displaying his five fingers.
"5 months?" Tonia guessed with a slight now, glancing back at the binder with a conjuring gaze.
"A maximum of 5 Years." Heliro corrected her, with a sly smile.
Chatter burst out within the room again.
"Isn't that like…a really long time~?"
"5 years disguised as a human? Gah, that sounds disgusting,"
"Let me explain it to you all more clearly. I need you all to infiltrate for at most 5 years. As you know, our Empire's army has 13 main squads; Each led by a commander. Well, the 6th Commander, Plinto and 7th Commander, Reycan were last seen around the area of Vesage Kingdom. We believe them to have been captured by the Vasage Kingdom whilst working alongside the Holy Empire. We just have no idea where they are now. So we need you all to try gaining as much information as you can without raising any suspicion. Infiltrate their highest ranks and gain the favor of those around you. Simple enough?"
As the banter quieted down, the squad took their leave and headed back to their barracks.
"I think that Jyn and Reisa should go for the court magicians." Seilon said after reading through the file thoroughly, "Since they are the only magicians in our squad,"
"I want to be an adventurer~!" Len interrupted, raising her hand as she held the piece of paper with the adventurer description written on it.
"Then I'll join her," Tonia added,
"We'll need one more person to join them." Seilon calculated,
"Finny & Rinny should join them," Reisa contributed, "There's nothing else on this list that they could really join anyway."
"Ok, added."
"The Ten Conquerors sound strong!" Leon commented, his fighting spirit ignited,
"You'll have to think of a code name for yourself if you do want to join the Conquerors." Seilon retorted,
"I'll think of one when the time comes." Leon scoffed, still in his make-believe dream.
"Then I'll join the council," Enga suggested, "It's not like fighting's my strong suit anyway."
"Ok. added."
"Guess that means Commander and Vice-Commander are gonna be knights~!" Len exclaimed, cheerfully.
"...and we have a full list," Seilon said, double-checking the information he filled in, "Yep, guess we can head back to the palace now?"
He glanced over at Alastair, who nodded in agreement.
Everyone immediately stood up from their seats and excitedly hyped themselves up for the mission.
Heading back to the office and handing in their filled-in list, Heliro quickly skimmed through it,
"Oh, so the Commander and Vice-commander are going to be the knights, that was unexpected," Heliro muttered, taking out another sack from under his desk. "These are high-tier artifacts." He took out a plain, black-looking bracelet from within.
"It's a prototype developed by Professor Rean. A body-shifting device. It warps your body to appear like that of the selected species. So the appearance is no longer just an illusion. That's what took the 3-month delay of this mission." Heliro explained, "Just double-tap the middle of the bracelet and think about the appearance you want. The removed parts would be turned into Demonic Energy and sealed within the bracelet. But the bracelet would continue to seal the Energy until it"s removed. So remember to never take it off unless you want your identity revealed."
"Understood," The squad responded, each beginning to equip the bracelet.
Within seconds, their appearances began to change.
Everybody looked around, completely surprised.
All their horns had disappeared along with their iconic red eyes. Their canine teeth also shortened to the size of a normal human.
"Remember, stay away from the Harpasille Continent for now. If you hear about anyone from the Holy Empire coming. Stay away. You are all not strong enough to face them yet. If there is a problem, alert all your squad members and I. And one more thing, if you happen to find the whereabouts of the Commanders, report to me before taking action." Heliro added, his tone extremely serious,
"Oh and, Alastair, stay behind for a second. Everyone else should get moving," Heliro commented, once again kicking them out of his office, whilst Alastair stood where he was, waiting for his next order.
The room became intensely silent as Heliro and Alastair stared at each other, neither making a sound.
Finally tired of the awkward atmosphere generated, Heliro let out a light sigh and activated the seal which was embedded within Alastair's chest, and gave out a command.
Alastair"s eyes glowed red for a second as the command registered.
"You can leave low," Heliro waved Alastair out of his office whilst resting his chin on his wrist with a small grin.
As Alastair exited the office, Seilon and Enga walked over,
"What'd he say?" Seilon asked out of curiosity,
"Nothing," Alastair replied, honestly as he continued to walk down the hallway,
The two shrugged and followed behind him.