"That's the ultimate undying body, isn't it?" Marcell asked Mary in shock as he watched Crayon blow himself up and regenerate into a whole human being without any deformities or side effects.
Outside the array formation, the soldiers and the deputy commander watched the examinees perform, along with the crowd of guardians on large light screens, each screen showing each examinee.
Marcell had been interested in the boy who defeated his nephew for quite a while now, especially after he saw how he managed to wield the true name sutra goin tattoo against his nephew despite the latter calling out his true name. That was beyond what he understood about that Gion tattoo. Also, witnessing that the boy was willing to blow himself up rather than give up spoke volumes about his character. Marcell felt his nephew's loss to Crayon wasn't unjust.
Now he was beginning to understand why the deputy commander was interested in him enough to invite the lad to have tea with him for the exam. Actually, he himself wanted to get to know the boy personally, and if the latter was interested, he would have him intern on his gion ship. Someone who was willing to blow themselves up to win when giving up was so much easier and painless was someone who wouldn't stop at anything to achieve his goals.
"Yes, it is," Mary said proudly. After all, she was the one who helped Crayon create his gioncore card. She wanted to say that but held back, knowing that in no scenario would she come off as humble.
"Ms. Mary, I heard you assisted Crayon in creating his peak gioncore card. You have achieved so much at such a young age," the Deputy Commander added with a gentle smile before asking, "That's the gion tattoo he is using, the true name sutra, right?"
"Thank you, Sir Col," Mary said, thanking the Deputy Commander and bowing her head to him a little. She then turned to see the screen displaying Crayon before answering, "Yes, that is the true name sutra gion tattoo."
"As you saw earlier, he wielded it without having to worry about its limitations thanks to his grim cypher, Fateless," Mary explained, knowing what the Deputy Commander was getting at. It wasn't just him; Captain Marcell and the others didn't bring themselves to be rude enough to pry. She wanted to clarify it before people started accusing him of cheating.
"I see, so it goes beyond mirroring other grim cyphers, even their identities. Mirroring one's fate—a truly remarkable grim cypher," the Deputy Commander spoke out loud. Mary and Marcell could feel the excitement brimming in his voice even though he appeared indifferent. Marcell was just as excited as him, but Mary wasn't pleased about him talking about Crayon's grim cypher so openly and also felt that there was more than what met the eye to his words.
He wasn't done; he wanted to gauge to what extent Crayon could use the grim cyphers he mirrored. He continued, "If you don't mind me asking—"
"Sir Col, with all due respect, I do mind. If you have any further questions about Wyatt or his grim cypher, you can ask Wyatt. And I would prefer it if you give a little thought to the privacy of your examinees, especially considering you know the nature of Wyatt's grim cypher," Mary cut off the Deputy Commander in a fit of rage. Then she glared at Captain Marcell, who immediately averted his eyes and ears, not wanting to get caught in the crossfire.
Mary was fuming. She could believe that someone of the Deputy Commander's power and authority would behave so recklessly about such matters. Did he think that he could use his authority and flimsy flattery to break privilege? She had already guessed what was going on and geared up, she would make sure that Crayon wouldn't end with these muscle heads that only know how to punch through problems, creating more problems. She planned to get it through his muscle brain Crayon belonged to the Skyox Grimmyth Researcher institute.
"I'm sorry, I was just excited to see the city gain such an excellent grimlock," the Deputy Commander didn't take offense to Mary's outburst; instead, he apologized and laughed it off. As he noticed from the corner of his eye, Captain Marcell was communicating with someone; it had to be Deputy Grimgate Commander Mark Payne.
He thought he was one step ahead of his counterpart in the Grimgate Garrison by preponing Crayon's garrison reserve registration to today, but now it seemed he might lose that lead.
So, he was about to call the Major on duty to not let Deputy Grimgate Commander Mark Payne into the reserve garrison base. However, the latter called him, so he skeptically answered it. But before he could mentally converse, the other side reported in distress, "Sir Col, situation orange. A ship from the prefecture has entered the city space without authorization. We fear it can escalate to a situation red. City Commander Laos is personally dealing with it, but she asked you to stop whatever you are doing and to guard Chief Research Director Harrison Hawthorne immediately. Deputy Grimgate Commander Mark Payne will be meeting you there."
"Affirmative, I will leave the base in your care, Major Pan," Col said as he got up from his chair. Then, signaling the First Lieutenant in charge of the exam, he exited the venue as he instructed him, "I have been called for duty. I'm leaving; you are in charge of the registration now."
"Yes, sir," First Lieutenant Ryan Hart nodded, and after a little hesitation, he asked, "Sir, what are my orders for Crayon V. Wyatt?"
The Deputy Commander's steps were delayed a little before ordering, "When the house is on fire, we shouldn't be fighting over who gets what, but trying to put the fire out together. Return to your post and do your duty."
"Yes, sir. I will act accordingly," Ryan Hart nodded in affirmation and took his leave to oversee the entire garrison reserve registration process.