The Paragon of Eden
Chapter 16

“Sir, the man was telling the truth. Nothing we have tried has worked on the Warback’s shield. Not even the Void Weapons.”

Hanin cringed at the mention of the technology. He had yet to negotiate its ban. He needed to be patient, though, standing here in his black business attire and confronting the heads of the UPOA.

“I wasn’t even aware we had access to them yet,” said a tall man with a short, brown beard. He wiped his brow with a handkerchief, clearly overwhelmed by the stress his position of power brought him. He eyed Hanin, making sure that the Angel knew that Void energy’s ban wasn’t off the table.

“We are progressing at rapid speeds, sir. Tests for newer variants are commencing as we speak. My colleagues say we will have access to the bomb in time to—.”

“No!” Hanin shouted. There were people all around the room, some looking disturbingly young for their age and some bold enough to show it off, all in serious outfits of black and white. The whole room was dark and abstract, devoid of details. The surfaces of the floor, the walls, the table, were shiny and glass, empty despite their size. The light came from corners and edges in the in large confines, shining down and beating the worried faces of the diverse representatives of every major sect of the UPOA. It wasn’t much, but these people were not set to stand against even the slightest bit of glare. They all looked at Hanin, all the men and women in the dark room around him. They had been arguing in tandem until now, struggling to reach a conclusion on what to make of Hanin and the Angels. “A bomb of Void energy is the worst thing you can attempt this far into the war.”

“What do you know of Void energy?” a doubtful woman with a smooth, dark face said from her black leather chair across the room.

“I could tell you more than you wanted to know, but our leading expert on the subject is dead. At the hands of the one who attacked the Genesis Protector Base.”

All eyes turned towards various other individuals. Politics were complicated here, and information was traded and worth more than any amount of money. Some of them knew of the secret base, some of them had their doubts, and others were completely oblivious. Hanin was causing them all great shock, but he didn’t see the point of it. They had this coming, or else they were going to die.

The bearded man turned to them all, and without saying a word, he nodded. The rest of them gasped, sighed, and began shouting again at each other. They all knew enough that there was some secret source of power, potentially better than anything they had, and some knew that it had been given to them by an outside force. Now, it was clear.

“You’re Crystals are stolen, Angel.” It was a small man with a wrinkled face and a hooked nose, closer to the center of the room. “We have them. Don’t come licking our heals when you know we have no reason to give you anything at all.”

“Quiet,” said the bearded man. “He knows we lost them. He says they were stolen, and he knows who did it.”

“So he has them, then. They’ve come here to mock us.”

“No,” said Hanin. “Hau is not one of us. He stole the Crystals, and now he is acting on his own with more power than either the Empire or the UPOA. I doubt even your biggest advancements in Void Energy could stop him in his current state.”

The conference collectively shivered. Some didn’t buy it, but it was the bearded man and several others with high enough standings to have had prior communications with the Angels who led the mood of the room. They were all genuinely worried at the news.

“So, what are his plans?” asked one of the younger leaders. “What are you here to help us guard against? With the Empire gone, we have all our might to focus on one divisive battle and win. I am sure of this.”

“We don’t know. He has never been clear with us. We only know that he wants to do something with all that power, and he has always been known among us to be the readiest to kill large amounts of people on his own--.”

“Lies!” someone shouted. “How do we know he tells the truth?”

The scientist barged in again, sweating from the effort of testing the Guardian’s shield. “sir!” he shouted. “We just tried out the newest weapons on the shield. We haven’t had them approved yet, but they were effective enough beforehand. They still haven’t worked. Whoever designed the shield must have had Void technology in mind. There’s no other way to explain it.”

The room was quiet. Hanin was not there with preparation. He had made deals beforehand, arranging for Kod, Veena, and Sen to aid in the defeat of the Empire. The three Angels had been enough to do the trick, and the UPOA barely had time to celebrate with how fast they achieved victory. They were still largely consumed by political turmoil that had prevented their technological expansion from giving them the key to defeat the Empire. The Angels had tried subduing it using Deelia, but it only ended up spurning on the development of the accursed Void tech. Now, the racing results of the mysterious help in the war had all of them racing to make the most of it. Hanin was not here with any ceremony. He came here disguised as one of them, and it was only when he had revealed his Guardian to them and the scientists that they began to take him seriously. Everything had to happen now. That was the cause of all the sweat.

“When can we expect to deal with this threat?” an older man asked.

“Tomorrow,” Hanin responded.

If the room had already been dark, the sudden statement had made it much darker.

“We don’t have enough time!”

“You have to. There is no other way.”

“We can’t just sit here and mobilize our entire defensive force against a mythical threat based on a single encounter with an irregular man. How do we know he isn’t an Empire rat?”

“Sir,” the scientist said. “The results… They are undeniably true.”

The rest of them were quiet again. They barely had time to think. Would they be able to stand up to Hau in time? Would life survive after Hau was done? What was he planning to do?

“Gentlemen, ladies,” said a dark old man with a very scared face. He wore dark colors like the rest of them, but he was the only one who had a chest of many, many decorated medals. He had shoulder pads that displayed all sorts of ranks and positions. He hadn’t said a word the entire event, but he was very well respected among them for how fast he bought their attention. That, or he was feared. “This man, Hau. I believe I know him. You Angels are familiar with sending your ranks out into the world to act in secret, aren’t you?”

“We are,” Hanin said.

“Then it is clear. Long ago, I remember I had met the man. I have a few memories I think would be important to share with you all. These memories are not exclusive to me, however. I know this man has met many others in our line of work. He is very well-versed at playing undercover. For a time, I tried to study him, but he always evaded me. If you so choose to, ladies and gentlemen, I have a few stories to recall. They involve slaughters and destruction, manipulation and charm, malice… please listen.”

And they all listened, to him. When it was done, he looked at Hanin, and he nodded. They would be ready.

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