Chapter 112: Government Agent
Hugo had experienced many strange things in his life—from dying, to killing a Corrupted Terror, to encountering a Great Terror, to meeting an ancient Supreme and an ancient Sacred, to even killing an Unholy God.
But he had never expected that he would find himself in his current situation.
He was sitting in a moderately beautiful coffee shop at an unassuming table, with two cups of coffee placed on the table, one for him and the other for the person sitting with him.
On the other side was one of humanity's greatest and oldest Saints, Wake of Ruin.
Saint Cor had not wasted any time coming here after Hugo had called him.
"So, Paragon of Purity, have you made your decision? I hope you haven't called me here to waste my time." Saint Cor said, his voice as cold as ever.
It was natural that Saint Cor valued his time greatly, considering that he was one of the only two Saints the government possessed. That meant he was responsible for dealing with stronger Nightmare Creatures, helping with trade routes in the Dream Realm and teleporting people in and out of the Dream Realm.
The fact that he had given time to meet with Hugo showed that he had already invested a lot in Hugo and his potential.
After all, even compared to Changing Star and her cohort, Hugo was still the most likely candidate to become a Saint according the government statistics.
'He also doesn't know about my new True Name... Let's keep it that way for now.'
"Fear not, I'm not here to waste your time. Quite the opposite, actually—I'd like to take you up on your offer."
Saint Cor's eyes widened slightly. He did not think Hugo would be this easy to convince...
But alas, the Saint was no fool.
"I'm assuming you have conditions?"
"Naturally," Hugo answered, drinking his coffee. "I will make it brief. I have four conditions. One: any resources I receive from Nightmare Creatures will be split 80 to 20—80% for me, 20% for the government. Secondly, you must support me with resources, Memories, and Echoes, and offer me everything I need to conquer the third nightmare. Thirdly, I must have the right to refuse certain orders and missions if I deem them beneath my moral code and lastly, don't request me to make any public speeches. You can tell the world that I've joined the government, but don't make me promote it."
Wake of Ruin's eyes narrowed slightly as he listened to Hugo's words.
He was actually quite surprised by how simple his requests were. The young man didn't demand much considering the great aid he was offering to the government.
"That is manageable... However, don't expect to hold much influence within the government as you are right now. Just because you are a powerful Ascended does not mean you can swoop in and challenge our authority. Is that clear?"
Hugo looked at the older Saint for a moment, then smiled.
"But that would change once I become a Saint, wouldn't it?"
Cor's expression remained stone cold as he responded:
"Yes. As of now, me and the Dream Merchant hold the greatest influence over the government. So if you ever become a Saint, your influence would naturally improve. But don't twist my words. No matter how powerful you get in the future, the government will never be controlled by a single person. In fact, it must never be controlled by a single person. The government was built on a democratic ideology, and it must remain so for the rest of time. If you try to change that, then you will make an enemy of us all."
A chill ran down Hugo's spine, but it wasn't fear of the old man himself.
The chill came from the sheer tenacity in Cor's eyes—a fierce, unyielding dedication to preserving the government's rulership. It was like staring into the eyes of a maddening beast, lurking just behind that bleak gaze.
Though Hugo did find himself agreeing with saint cor statement, after all the government must always be the opposite of the great clans, who were ruled by a single all-powerful entity. Still, the conviction within Wake of Ruin was almost startling.
"I agree," Hugo said. "So, am I hired?"
To this, Wake of Ruin simply got up and gestured for Hugo to follow him.
"Follow me."
They left the cafe and entered Wake of Ruin's PTV, which was a little funny—seeing a mighty Saint drive a car—but Hugo did not share his thoughts.
The old man seemed to be driving to one of the government buildings in NQSC, which were surprisingly few compared to those of the great clans and their legacy branches.
Hugo was slowly realizing that the government was never in control of this world, but instead it was the Sovereigns, hidden behind the disguise of the great clans.
'Is this really a world I want to protect?'
Hugo, much like all other Awakened, wanted to protect his world from the Nightmare Spell and the Nightmare Creatures invading it.
Awakened did not have to worry themselves about the political nature of their world, considering they were constantly at war... But now, Hugo was uncertain.
He still wanted to kill Nightmare Creatures and protect those who couldn't save themselves but he was not sure if he agreed with the decisions of the ones in power.
From what he has seen so far, valor and song were not the greatest rulers.
'I'm still too weak to do anything about it for now...'
Until he becomes a Saint or a Supreme, hugo could not do anything meaningful to change the world.
Well, Hugo could always transform into Alien x and wake up the Forgotten God, but that would destroy all of existence instead of changing it, so he would rather not doing that.
'Now that I think about it, why is Alien x such a problematic form?...'
If someone were to conquer the Sixth Nightmare and become Divine, would they too awaken the Forgotten Gods and the Unholy Deities of the Dream Realm? Or was it that Alien x was simply too powerful and ancient that the alien itself attracted calamity simply by existing?
The Celestialsapiens were born before the Primordial Gods, and thus they were only second to them in terms of power... So in a way, it made sense that their presence could change fate itself.
Perhaps this was the reason the gods imposed a unique absolute law upon them...
'Let's just hope that I won't need to use Alien x ever again...'
He had already experienced being a Divine Titan once, and he did not want to experience it again—or to be specific, he wanted to but he wanted to experience it naturally by conquering the sixth nightmare and not through the Omnitrix.
"We've arrived." Wake of Ruin said, snapping Hugo out of his thoughts.
Hugo calmly got out of the PTV and stared at the gigantic building in front of them, before letting out a whistle.
Cor moved quickly, removing his disguise and entering the building, leaving the security in shock that the great Saint had just passed them.
Cor and Hugo walked towards the elevator. As they did, Hugo saw the daily work of government employees...
It was not pretty. Many of the mundane people were stressing as they took in gate calls around the world, calculated shipments and resource management, and managed multiple other awakened related stuff such as Memory banks and awakened military.
"Charming." Hugo muttered, slightly contemplating his decision.
He had chosen the government instead of the great clans due to the 'freedom' he would receive and the benefits.
And out of the government, Valor, Night and Song, Hugo thought that he could do more good in the government.
"Don't worry, you won't be dealing with any of this. You are an SS government agent agent, after all."
"What does the SS designation have do in regards to this job?" Hugo asked, unsure why the saint suddenly mentioned that.
SS meant that he was
"It means you're a special strategic asset agent within the government—one that will be cultivated and handled with great care. In simple words, we'll treat you better then other government agents so that you don't leave and join Valor or Song."
"So, nepotism." Hugo said.
"...I did not expect you to be this immature, considering your records."
"What can I say? I like to be charming," Hugo said as they finally exited the elevator.
They were currently on the final floor. Here they could see the entirety of NQSC, which was both a beautiful and an overwhelming sight.
The floor itself was quite small, comprising of only four rooms on the entire floor, which seemed to be offices.
On the first office, the door read "Saint Cor, Wake of Ruin." On the second, it read "Saint Thane, Dream Merchant." Both doors bore a golden insignia with four stars beneath it.
Next to each office was another room—one beside Saint Cor's, the other beside Saint Thane's.
The one beside Cor's had a three-star insignia on its door, and a small silver nameplate reading "Soul Reaper Jet." That made Hugo a little nervous.
He was about to become coworkers with his childhood hero... Which was exciting.
Hugo was guided to the office beside Saint Thane's room, which had three stars around it and a silver nameplate saying "Hugo, Paragon of Purity."
"Is this my office?" Hugo was actually surprised by this, not many got an office on their first day of work.
Cor nodded, opening the door and revealing a beautifully decorated office, with a TV, a wooden desk, and two giant shelves behind filled with books and documents.
On top of the desk was a government outfit and a government agent badge of some sorts.
"Wow, you guys really prepared for me," Hugo said, walking close and grabbing the badge, playing with it a little.
The government uniform they had prepared for him was surprisingly well-made, it was a dark blue jacket and pants with silver epaulets and thick black leather boots. A shoulder insignia on the left sleeve bore three silver stars, which represented his ascended rank.
Hugo grabbed the clothes, wearing the jacket but then, he suddenly paused right as he was about to take off his pants.
"can you, uh... leave for a moment?"
Cor stared at him with a deadpan expression. "You're seriously undressing here..." He stopped himself, pinching the bridge of his nose. "You know what? Fine. Carry on."
He stepped out, and Hugo quickly changed, tossing his old clothes into [Nothing] before dismissing the Memory.
"Alright, I'm done. You can come in now."
Cor re-entered with an expression that clearly said he was already regretting this arrangement.
"You will be contacted whenever you're needed. In the meantime, I suggest reading some of the documents and familiarizing yourself with your computer, it will help you understand how the government operates. I personally can't assign you to myself, so you will be under Saint Thane, the Dream Merchant. I've also prepared a video explaining the basics of being a government agent. Make sure to watch it, Now—"
Just as Cor was about to go into details, something strange happened.
His communicator and Hugo's Omnitrix suddenly made a beeping sound, one that was definitely not a call.
...And it wasn't only just them. Every person in the building, from workers to members of the staff, was receiving the same notification.
The notification read:
EMERGENCY ALERT
EMERGENCY ALERT
GATE ACTIVITY DETECTED IN YOUR PROXIMITY
ETA: 30 MINUTES
EVACUATE IMMEDIATELY!