Chapter 47: THE TELEPATH
The moment the drone crashed to the ground, everyone rushed outside.
Even Ragnar and Hoshina moved immediately.
The broken machine lay in the grass a few meters away from the building.
Kaito crouched beside it.
His eyes narrowed.
"There's a camera."
Everyone froze.
The lens was small, almost invisible.
But it was there.
Watching them.
Watching everything.
Hoshina's expression immediately darkened.
"...Shit,we are so screwed."
Ragnar clenched his fists.
"They found us."
A heavy silence fell over the group.
Aoi crossed her arms.
"Who found us?"she questioned Ragna.
Ragnar exhaled slowly.
"The organization."
Nobody spoke.
For the first time since meeting him, Ragnar looked genuinely serious.
"Listen to me,we don't have time anymore!There are people inside "Eclipse Vanguard" known as Emissaries."
He raised a finger.
"There are eight of them."
"Eight captains."
"Each captain commands their own division and their own Vice-Captain."
Tokita frowned.
"And you and Hoshina where one of them?"
Ragnar nodded."yes."
"I'm the Seventh Emissary."
The group exchanged looks.
Even Tokita looked surprised.
"Seventh?"Mira blinked.
"So there are six people above you?"Tokita questioned Ragna.
Ragnar shrugged.
"Probably."
"Some are stronger than me."
"Some aren't, and when I mean by the ones who aren't stronger than me I'm talking about their vice captains of course,not the Emissaries themselves."
Everyone looked confused.
Ragnar noticed immediately.
"The rankings aren't decided purely by combat power."
"Intelligence."
"Influence."
"Utility."
"Potential."
"Special abilities,The Unique one's too"
"All of those matter."
Hoshina folded his arms.
"Some of those bastards are terrifying without ever throwing a punch."
Aoi frowned.
"How does the ranking system work?"
Ragnar pointed upward.
"The higher your rank, the more information you're allowed to know."
"I'm Rank Seven or was ranked seven."
"That means I only know the identity of Rank Eight."
"The person directly below me."
Natsuki blinked.
"Wait."
"So you don't know who's above you?"
"No."
Ragnar's answer came instantly.
"I don't know Rank Six."
"I don't know Rank Five."
"I don't know Rank Four."
"I don't know any of them."
"But they know me, they know Hoshina,our abilities,wicknesses, everything that is to know about us."
The group went silent.
"...That's messed up," Tokita muttered.
Ragnar laughed.
"That's the point."
"The entire system runs on paranoia."
"The people above you know everything."
"The people below you know nothing."
"Everybody is suspicious of everybody."
Kaito narrowed his eyes.
"And the guy below you?"
"The Eighth Emissary?"
Ragnar nodded.
"I know everything about him."
"His abilities."
"His weaknesses."
"His Vice-Captain."
"Even his family."
The group stared.
Aoi looked disturbed.
"You were really given all that information?"
"Yep."
"Sent anonymously."
"By someone known only as One."
Natsuki frowned.
"And who exactly is One?"
"I don't know."
Ragnar immediately pointed at him.
"See?"
"You're doing it again."
"I'm literally telling you I don't know."
Hoshina groaned.
"Are you even listening to him?!"
Natsuki raised both hands.
"Okay, okay, my bad."
Ragnar sighed.
"Anyway."
"The Eighth Emissary's ability allows him to manipulate earth."
Tokita tilted his head.
"Earth?"
"You mean sand?"
"No."
Ragnar shook his head.
"Rock."
"Concrete."
"Buildings."
"Anything connected to the ground."
The group exchanged glances.
"That's dangerous," Mira whispered.
"It gets worse."
Ragnar's eyes narrowed.
"He also possesses a Unique Ability,He can also manipulate metal,you know like iron and stuff but there a bright side,he can not use his ability and the unique one at the same time!"
"Just like how Hoshina couldn't control two people at one's when using his unique ability "puppeteer" right!?"Natsuki replied.
"Yes!Just like that,no matter how "OP" your abilities are there most always be a flaw or conditions to use them, maybe you aren't just a talkative moron after all lightening boy."Ragna replied to Natsuki.
"Wh-what the hell does that mean huh!"Natsuki replied to Ragna.
Tokita"I get that were in a pickle but,the way Ragna and Natsuki are talking they both sound like a teacher and student arguing and agreeing on a specific topic."
Nezuko chuckled."Yeah,I can see that too."
"And do not on any circumstances allow the "8th emissary" awakening,I'm I understood."Ragna replied in a serious tone.
The atmosphere instantly changed.
Tokita immediately understood.
"Like how you Awakened your Abilities potential after experiencing a near death situation."Tokita replied.
Ragnar pointed at him.
"Exactly."
"Never let him use it."
"If he starts using both abilities at once..."
He paused.
"...run."
The group remained silent.
Tokita remembered their fight.
The moment Ragnar awakened.
The moment everything changed.
Aoi swallowed.
"So what's his name?"
Ragnar nodded.
"His name is—"
Suddenly—
Drip.
Something warm ran down his face.
Ragnar froze.
"...Huh?"
Blood.
A single drop fell from his nose.
Then another.
Then another.
"What the hell?"
The next second—
PAIN.
"AAAGHHHH!"A violent scream escaped his mouth,his voice echoed through out the estate which made some of the civilians who where there worried about the situation.
Ragnar collapsed.
Everyone jumped.
"RAGNAR!"
Blood poured from his nose.
His body trembled violently.
Veins bulged across his neck.
His eyes turned bloodshot.
Hoshina suddenly dropped to one knee.
"SHIT!"
Blood exploded from his nose too.
He grabbed his head.
"My brain—!"
The two men screamed simultaneously.
Mira rushed forward.
"I'm healing them!"
Golden light erupted from her hands.
The moment she touched Ragnar—
Everything changed.
Darkness.
An endless black world.
Mira found herself standing somewhere else entirely.
Inside Ragnar's mind.
Her eyes widened.
"What...?"
A giant shadow stood in the darkness.
Watching her.
Watching Ragnar and Hoshina.
Watching everything.
The thing slowly turned towards her.
Mira's entire body froze.
Fear.
Pure fear.
Then—
The shadow moved.
Mira was launched backward.
A violent force slammed into her.
BOOM!
Back in reality, Mira's body flew through the air.
Natsuki reacted instantly.
A burst of electricity exploded beneath his feet.
He vanished.
Then caught her before she crashed into the wall.
Everyone stared.
"What happened?!"
Mira's face had gone pale.
"T-There's someone in their heads..."
"What?!"
"Something is attacking their memories!"
The pain continued.
Ragnar and Hoshina writhed on the ground.
Blood stained the concrete beneath them.
Then—
Just as suddenly as it started—
It stopped.
Silence.
Heavy breathing echoed through the area.
Ragnar slowly lifted his head.
Blood dripped from his chin.
Hoshina wiped his mouth.
"...Is it over?"
Nobody answered.
Aoi stepped forward carefully.
"Ragnar."
"Do you remember?"
Ragnar frowned.
"Remember what?"
"The Eighth Emissary."
"The person you were about to tell us about."
Ragnar opened his mouth.
Then paused.
Confusion filled his eyes.
"I..."
His voice weakened.
"I don't remember."
The group froze.
"What?"
Ragnar grabbed his head.
"I know he exists."
"I know he was beneath me."
"But his face..."
"His name... everything..."
"It's gone."
Hoshina looked just as confused.
"I can't remember either."
Mira's expression darkened.
"It wasn't an attack."
Everyone looked at her.
"It was memory manipulation."
"A psychic."
"A powerful one."
"Someone reached across an enormous distance and forcibly erased specific information."
Silence.
Even Tokita looked disturbed.
"From this far away?"Tokita asked.
Mira nodded slowly.
"Yes."
"Which means whoever did this..."
She looked toward the destroyed drone.
"...already knows where we are."
Nobody spoke.
The realization hit everyone at once.
The organization wasn't searching anymore.
They had already found them.
Ragnar slowly stood up.
Blood still stained his face.
For the first time since they met him...
He looked genuinely confused.
"That wasn't Rank Eight."
Everyone looked at him.
Ragnar swallowed.
"...That was someone definitely above me."
The wind suddenly felt colder.
And somewhere far away...
Someone was watching.
End of Chapter 47