F-Rank Frank: Interlude I (Patreon)

Interlude I

(One Week Later)

Sub-Lieutenant Percius Holsy

“The entire thing from start to finish was a P.R. disaster,” General Graves said, as he combed through the reports before him on everything that happened. “You know they are calling it the day of the Reaper. A day when not one but two students were seemingly cut down in some death pact suicide attempt.”

“Sir, it wasn’t like that.” Captain Ty “Vanguard” Wright cut in.

“I know. Trust me, I have read both your reports and those reports of other operatives who went down to the first district where those two miscreants came from.” General Graves began, indicating that he had gone behind the back of everyone present to double check that nothing was left unchecked.

Listening in as an extra witness to the case, Holsy couldn’t help but feel slightly angered by the fact that someone would go back behind their backs to verify their findings. Then again, after thinking about it, Holsy realized that the General’s hands were likely tied and that he was likely forced to send out a second scout team down just to double-check and make sure that everything was captured accurately.

“Though you both must admit that this is the equivalent of a P.R. nightmare. We have two people who finally get their chance to rise above their status, and be elevated from the slums. Only to be killed by each other, one for some perceived slights, and one for direct retaliation.” The General stated, but then exhaling he sighed as he turned his back to the two, and let a moment of silence fill the room. Silence that Holsy himself almost felt compelled to fill.

For a moment he thought about stating how it might actually be a blessing in disguise as being raised to the academies was not the fairy tale ending that it was made out to be. Just as he opened his mouth, General Graves turned his head to lock gazes with Holsy. Then as if seeing his thoughts, or understanding what Holsy was going to ask, the General cut him off.

“I know full well Sub-Lieutenant that the surface life is not all sunshine and rainbows. But the people of the deep areas don’t know that. They don’t know that many on the surface wish to have a peaceful existence that is offered by being in relative anonymity below the surface. That where they are, with only having to deal with the occasional surges of giant rodents is a blessing all things considered. I get all that. But those kids, those One hundred and fifty-four individuals who sat around after their own crappy Awakening to watch not one but two who had defied the odds and managed to leave get killed before their eyes was a clear wakeup call as to how dangerous the upper levels can be. And that is the problem. We need those kids, and their future kids to want to leave, to strive for bigger and greater goals of joining us on the surface. They live in a fairy-tale, and we need to let them, otherwise we will never get the reinforcements that we so desperately need. Each B-Rank talent we find is a blessing. Furthermore, everyone of those who comes from the slums and manages to make the fifth Tier of cultivation on their own are considered driven geniuses by the instructors. Those are the people we need Sub-Lieutenant, and sadly those are two of the very people that we are now missing thanks to the mishandling of resources.” General Graves stated honestly.

Hearing that, Holsy couldn’t help but shut his mouth, once again the General’s gift for foresight let him control the conversation and the pace at which information was released. Hearing his reply, Holsy couldn’t help but feel like he had been forced to swallow a lemon whole as he seemed to be unable to render a reply. Not that anyone could come up with anything to counter the General, when he was using his power to clearly stay one step ahead of the conversation.

Looking to his left, Holsy could see that Vanguard, his commander, wanted to speak, but wisely held his mouth shut. Seeing the display from his commander, Holsy realized he had dodged a bullet with his near insubordination and wisely decided to lock up his mouth and stand at parade rest.

Seeing that Holsy was once again quelled, the General nodded, and then continued.

“Commander, tell me again in full detail what you found from your initial investigation after the awakening up until the attack.” The General demanded.

Vanguard was about to open his mouth, but the General held up a quick hand to stop him as he pulled out a recording crystal.

Seeing the crystal, Holsy realized that this was the important part. This was where the true deposition would be taken. Everything before this was likely done for Holsy’s part, he was needed as a witness to the ordeal, but he also knew now that any outburst on his part would be met with harsh punishment by the General who would likely let him open his mouth to make a fool out of him, rather than staying quiet as the third party observer as required by law.

“I don’t mean when you found the boy the second time. I mean from the first time you saw him, until the end.” General Graves said, holding out the crystal that was still not activated.

Hearing the instructions, Vanguard nodded in understanding. With that the General infused the recording crystal with a bit of blue energy and placed the instrument on the desk before him. And like that Vanguard began telling his findings.

“The two subjects were first noted and awakened as part of one of our first stops in District 22. There one Luther Camello was noted as having a B-Ranked talent and willingly agreed to follow our troop out once we finished our rounds in the lower areas. He was given four hours to go home and gather his things. During this time we had a scout member track him to make sure no one assaulted him out of envy or other actions. What the scout found was that the subject Luther Camello was engaged in aggressive bullying tactics of one Frank Fotos, an F-Ranker who had also awakened that day and had somehow drawn the ire of Former candidate Camello. From there it was witnessed how FC Camello directed two other F-Rankers to assault Cadet candidate Fotos. There was a scuffle, in which CC Fotos managed to disable the two F-Rankers and managed to evade capture. FC Camello, who had been hiding at the choke point eventually grew anxious and tried to find out what happened. During that time one of his underlings came out to him, frightening the subject, causing the subject to dispel his power with lethal efficiency. From there FC Camello was taken into custody, but only after chasing off CC Fotos. By the time FC Camello was taken into custody, and informed that he had lost his four hour window to gather his things, and that he would be taken up to first face two counts of manslaughter charges, FC Camello became combative. That was when Sub-Lieutenant Holsy first had to institute corporal discipline on the FC. With that administered, the scout went back to check for CC Fotos, only to find that any way of reaching the boy was impossible and it was believed he managed to somehow escape to safety or die. Originally, he was going to be listed as a third manslaughter charge, until he was found three days later in District 17, the very district that we were scanning for at that time.”

Deep breath.

Vanguard took a quick pause, to center himself before continuing. “The entire time FC Camello was under our command he was never allowed outside of the supervision of one or more of the guards. Furthermore, when he showed clear signs of hostility towards CC Fotos again, Holsy once again put FC Camello into corrective counseling positions, until FC Camello became compliant. CC Fotos had been found earlier that day in the lower mines. When my Sub Lieutenant Holsy went to check on the boy who came up as unknown according to the records of District 17, they thought he was unawakened and asked for us to check on him. When Holsy arrived, not only did he find the boy’s signatures from District 22, but he also found that somehow the boy had managed to break through the sixth layer of cultivation.”

“Sixth layer in three days?” General Graces asked, making sure to call out this fact.

“That is correct, six layers in three days. Furthermore, it was noted that his base of power was far more robust than one would expect from a person typically trying to cut corners and advance as quickly as possible. His base was so robust in fact that it almost appeared like he had purposefully held himself back from evolving as quickly as possible. Making sure to infuse every part of his body with power before advancing.”

With that General Graves nodded, indicating that the question posed had been answered satisfactorily for the recording. With that Vanguard apparently decided to switch back to his normal briefing mode.

“My Sub Lieutenant messaged me on the side and informed me of the discovery and the fact that this kid was ready for a second awakening. At first I was hesitant, as I didn’t think we had enough energy cells left to awaken all of District 17, and give a second awakening to someone who was on the seventh layer of cultivation.”

“Seventh layer? I thought you said he came out as sixth?” The General asked, noticing the potential point of contention and drawing light to it immediately.

“That is correct, as noted earlier, the boy CC Fotos had been holding himself back. In addition to being beyond the sixth layer of cultivation, somehow he had more than enough energy within his system to force a breakthrough to the seventh layer of cultivation while in the gymnasium, which he did under Sub Lieutenant Holsy’s watchful gaze.”

Another nod from the General let Vanguard know that the question had been answered satisfactorily, so once again Vanguard moved on.

“Given how short staffed we were, and the need to keep FC Camello under constant supervision given his status as an accused murderer, we had placed him with Sergeant Reyes who had him on energy cell replacement duty.”

“What exactly is that duty?” General Graves asked, apparently trying to make this so that even a civilian who knew nothing about what happened could follow along and realize that malice was at play.

“That duty involves the taking apart, removing, and reattaching of energy cells to the power couplers that ultimately feed energy into the object we all refer to as the awakening stone. Without the power cells being attached, we would not be able to provide enough energy to forcefully awaken everyone during the ceremonies.”

With that General Graves nodded, but then asked another clarifying question.

“And that job was a suitable punishment, being next to so much power?” General Graves asked.

“Honestly, attaching and disassembling of power cells is one of the most dangerous jobs available. As you may or may not be aware, power cells have two components. There is the primary component that is filled with sample stones from all known types of helpful energy types. That is your red fire stones, your dark blue water stones, your brown earth stones, and so on. What is not known, or often not considered is the counter balance to those stones, the way to keep that energy focused and directed in the direction we want.” Vanguard stated.

“And what exactly is that?”

“Death energy sir. In order to both encapsulate the power stones for future use, and to make sure that any harmful byproducts of energy radiating off of the power stones that could corrupt the cultivation process of those who don’t have an affinity for that particular type of energy, we use Death Crystals as the base component to break down any radiation from the other stones.”

“So these Death Stones are used to eat away otherwise toxic radiation?”

“That is correct sir.”

“What about radiation from these Death Stones, isn’t that a concern?”

“No, that is not a concern, as Death Stones do not radiate energy in any way. That is why they are used as neutralizing agent, for toxic energy waves.”

“If they are used as a neutralizing agent, then what is the concern posed by them?” The General pressed, again making sure that everything was spelled out for anyone who would listen to this briefing later on. Honestly Holsy was impressed with the way the General led the discussion in such a slow methodical way to prove the point that Vanguard was ultimately going to make. Now, all Holsy had to do was sit back and watch the final part all come together.

“While Death Crystals are a neutralizing agent for radioactive waves. They are in themselves the most corruptive energy known to man. Just touching death crystals can leave death residue, which if a cultivator is lucky the body will just create a natural pocket around the harmful substance and be able to cultivate around the blemish.”

“And in the worst case?”

“In the worst case, the corruption of Death energy can permanently disable limbs, and cultivation channels, leading to decreased capabilities and long-term suffering of the patient. And in some cases, if the exposure is high enough, an exposure of a sizable enough proportion could lead to death.”

“How much is needed to constitute a quote unquote high exposure?” General Graves asked.

“Being exposed to as much as five percent of a cultivator’s base energy pool for cultivation could be considered enough to cripple a standard cultivator. By the time they reach the seven to eight percent range death is all but guaranteed in a matter of years, and it is assumed the cultivator will no longer be able to use cultivation as a tool for combat. And by ten percent exposure, the question is often when, not if the person will die. Though this normally means that the cultivator will die within twenty-four hours or so from the time of exposure.” Vanguard answered thoroughly.

“Out of curiosity, approximately how much exposure was CC Fotos exposed to of this Death Energy?” General Graves asked.

“It is hard to tell, but initial reports indicate anywhere from a hundred and ten percent, to as high as one hundred and twenty-five percent.”

“A hundred and ten to one twenty-five? How is such a thing possible?”

“Well, in the case of CC Fotos, it would appear that he is one of the rare people who has managed an affinity with Death energy. While he still remains in a coma, he shows signs that he will awaken shortly.”

“Please continue with your report.” General Graves stated.

With that there was the slightest of pauses as Vanguard tried to remember where he was in his report of the events that took place, but quickly found his place and nodding began to answer.

“As was noted earlier. FC Camello was assigned to replace energy cells as time went on. We documented that he did a total of five such changes. The first two were with Sergeant Reyes directly assisting then the last three were with him as overwatch. When it came time for CC Fotos’s second awakening, Sergeant Reyes worked with FC Camello to set up two different energy cells. At first, Sergeant Reyes saw FC Camello begin the process of linking the correct nozzle end to the secondary feed tube that had been set up for the secondary awakening process, due to the need to provide twice as much energy. This observation was confirmed, by threading marks on the normal power providing side that showed both signs of being attached and then quickly detached.”

“What happened?”

“After receiving the initial approval from Sergeant Reyes, it was noted that Reyes turned his back on FC Camello, giving him time to act on his own. During this time, it was noted that FC Camello deliberately tampered with the cell, ripping off the safety seal for the death energy side of the coupler and attached that to the second energy feed tube that had been turned on for this operation. Things were moving quickly, and while Sergeant Reyes initially gave the thumbs up to Sub Lieutenant Holsy, that everything was good to go, it was not.”

“What happened then?”

“Once it was approved to open the flood gates, energy from the first cell began filling CC Fotos, when the energy from the first cell began to deplete, the reserves from the second cell were opened, to help speed up the process. The only problem of course being that the second tube provided death energy directly to CC Fotos.”

“What happened after that?”

There was a slow cadence going out, where Vanguard would get going, only to be slowed down by the General. Watching it, Holsy noticed the slight undertones of the need for going slightly slower, something that was only stressed the way the General kept interrupting, while asking the same question over and over, getting different results each time.

“There was obviously a commotion, as the signs of death energy were quickly identified as flooding into the candidate.”

“What did it look like?”

“It looked like he was dying, as if his own body was rotting away from the inside out. We noticed that he cried out in pain, but then he somehow managed to heal the damage that the death energy was causing on his body. Not quickly, but it was noticeable the longer things went on.”

“This is how you assess the one hundred and ten to one hundred and twenty-five percent exposure rating?”

“Yes, well that and the fact that we calculate that at least ten percent had to be used for the attack the CC used against the FC.”

“Attack?”

“Yes, during this process, CC Fotos looked up and apparently realized that FC Camello had done something in an attempt to kill him.”

“Do you think this was an attempt at murder, making the third, if not fourth charge of murder being brought before FC Camello, with at least one and possibly two being linked to CC Fotos?”

“That is correct. I believe it was a clear murder attempt, given his track record and previous history of violence towards the candidate, there was only one logical conclusion to take, he wanted to kill or seriously cripple the candidate.”

Nodding the General then asked.

“So what happened with this attack?”

“CC Fotos originally awoke as an F-Rank, meaning that he could only use powers internally, at first. With death magic there is no true range limit noted, but it is generally assumed to be able to be wielded with an S-Rank category, which CC Fotos proved by his actions. Locking gazes with FC Camello, he saw the boy smiling at his pain, given where he was and his previous discontent towards the candidate, CC Fotos understood the motive as well and reacted.”

“What did he do?”

“He reached out and with surgical precision, directed a wave of death energy to FC Camello, where we believe his core was ruptured, causing internal injuries that would have been impossible to recover from.”

“You believe?”

“Yes, well shortly after that, CC Fotos I guess wanted to make sure he either killed the boy, or wished to provide a mercy killing, at which point he exerted another larger burst of directed death energy at the target. After which point CC Fotos passed out due to exposure to death energy. We did a preliminary check on FC Camello and found that he was dead on the spot.”

“What are your thoughts on the actions of CC Fotos as a whole? Being as you were witness to everything that took place?”

With that Vanguard paused for a moment, before collecting his thoughts and providing an answer. “I saw it as an attempt at self-defense, or at the very least a revenge strike for the person you thought attempted to kill you.”

“Do you believe CC Fotos should be found at fault for the murder of FC Camello?”

“No, I do not. I see it as a person defending themselves against a bully and an aggressor who has shown countless attempts on CC Fotos’s life and nearly succeeded with this last attempt.” Vanguard answered smoothly.

“Do you foresee any future complications that might arise from this?”

“Being as FC Camello was just a B-Rank candidate his direct family had not followed. He has a younger sister who will awaken next year and might exact revenge at that time, once she learns of the fate of her older brother, though that seems unlikely given the noted animosity between her and her brother.”

“So CC Fotos has nothing to worry about in the academy?”

“Far from it, while he might have been estranged from his younger sister, FC Camello was noted as being on good terms with his older cousins, one Erving Camello, male and in the sophomore program of the academy, then there is Irene Camello who is a junior at the academy. Both are noted as A and S rank specialists respectively.”

“I see…”