"Those idiots... how did they become organization leaders?" Helios muttered, glancing over at Sara, who was still using his office.
"They might look like idiots, but they are not dumb," Sara replied calmly, her pen scratching against the paper as she finished her work. She looked up, noting the cleared space on his side of the room. "It seems like you are finished with your work, Helios."
"Yes, I have finally adapted to the horrible thing called paperwork," Helios sighed, leaning back with a weary expression.
"Is that so? Then why don't you help me?" Sara asked, her eyes turning soft and hopeful as she looked at him.
"No. I can help with anything except paperwork," Helios replied flatly, looking away to avoid her gaze.
A sharp knock sounded at the door. "Come in," Helios commanded, his eyes fixing on the entrance.
A woman stepped inside. She wore a striking red dress with long black gloves and a wide-brimmed hat featuring a veil draped to the side. Strands of white hair peeked out, and her light green eyes swept the room.
"Who are you?" Helios asked, his voice dropping to an icy, defensive tone.
"Leader! Can't you recognize me?" the woman cried out in a dramatic, hurt voice, gesturing grandly with her gloved hands.
Sara rolled her eyes, not looking up from her desk. "It's that dumb brother of mine."
"Nova... are you using your shape-shifting ability again?" Helios asked, his voice vibrating with frustration.
"Why are you getting so angry?" Nova asked, tilting his head with a playful pout.
"Did you forget?" Helios hissed. He vividly remembered the time Nova had sneaked into his house disguised as a maid and repainted his entire room bright pink.
"I think we should cut his salary in half," Sara suggested, a small, devious smirk playing on her lips.
"No! Not my salary! The Leader just increased it!" Nova shouted, his dramatic persona slipping for a moment in a panic.
"Anyway, why are you in that form?" Helios asked, eyeing Nova's dress with pure exhaustion.
"We have a mission from the royal family," Nova said, his expression turning slightly more professional.
"A mission? I never received a report about that," Helios said, his interest piqued, his brow furrowing in concentration.
"It's a mission to gather information from the black market about the other kingdoms," Nova explained.
"Information about what?" Helios pressed.
Nova leaned in closer, his voice dropping to a whisper. "The royal family told me not to tell anyone, but since you're the Leader, I can tell you. The other kingdoms might be starting a war with us soon. The black market somehow got information on exactly when the war is starting."
"That's the royal family's problem. Tell them to solve it on their own," Helios said, his lip curling in a look of pure disgust.
"I knew you were going to say that," Nova said with a knowing smile, "so I left the part that will make you want to take this mission for last."
"What is it?" Sara asked, her voice turning coarse and serious.
"The Principal of Eclipse might be involved in this war," Nova revealed.
Helios stood up instantly, his chair scraping loudly against the floor. "Call everyone to the meeting room."
"It seems like we are going to war, then," Sara said, standing up with a grim expression. As she walked toward the door, a look of relief crossed her face. "At least I don't need to do that stupid paperwork anymore."
The door clicked shut behind her.
"Why were we called to this room again on the same day?" Rio complained, floating into the meeting hall atop his artefact with a bored expression.
"You're late, aren't you?" Ray remarked, crossing his arms.
"We are all here now, so we can start the meeting," Helios announced. His golden and red eyes began to glow with a faint, dangerous light.
"Why did you call us here?" Seer asked, her voice sounding raspy and strained.
"We have reason to believe that a war will be starting soon, so we need to get ready for it," Helios stated in a tone that brooked no argument.
"How do we know this?" Ray asked sceptically.
"The royal family gave Nova a mission," Helios said, pointing at Nova, who was still standing there in the red dress.
"So, what do you mean by 'get ready'? What should we do?" Riku asked, leaning forward.
"Increase the training intensity at the combat facility. The information facility should also be taught hand-to-hand combat and other war skills. The research facility needs to create communication devices for long distances," Helios commanded. "Nova and I will go get the information from the black market."
He turned to the others. "Seer, since you can see the future, try to see what will happen if the war is real. Sara, help Seer with the work in her branch. That is all. Everyone is dismissed, except Nova."
The group stood up and filed out of the room. Once they were alone, Helios turned to Nova. "So, how are we going to infiltrate the black market?"
"There's an auction being held by the organization we're infiltrating. It just so happens that the invitation allows you to bring a friend," Nova said, holding up a gilded card. "The mission starts tonight."
Nova turned and walked out, the clicking of his high heels echoing down the hallway.
"This guy... he could at least go back to his original form. The mission hasn't even started yet," Helios muttered, rubbing his temples in frustration.
"Human... do you want to know something interesting?" Circlet's voice echoed in Helios's mind, sounding annoyed.
"You don't sound happy, so I don't want to know," Helios snapped back internally.
"Well, you're going to know soon anyway," Circlet mocked. "5... 4... 3..."
Circlet's countdown grew louder and more piercing. Suddenly, Helios buckled, coughing up dark blood onto the black table.
"Oh, it happened sooner than I expected," Circlet chuckled mockingly.
"What... what is happening to me, you dumb crown?" Helios gasped, his vision blurring as blood began to seep from the corners of his eyes.
"You think all those times you broke your limit had no price to pay?" Circlet's voice thundered, making Helios's head pound with agonizing pain.
"What do you mean... all those times I broke my limit?" Helios groaned, collapsing to the floor. His chair toppled over with a loud crash.
"I can name a few," Circlet said, his voice sounding like a teacher lecturing a disobedient child. "Like when you summoned all those nightmare creatures. When you awakened your summon realm without any training. And the last thing I can think of is when you use Spiral Energy. You have no control. You might not feel it anymore, but your body is falling apart every time you use it."
"I thought... I thought I would lose control of the nightmare creatures... how did I not?" Helios wheezed, leaning his back against the table and taking heavy, ragged breaths.
"Good question. You can thank the other guy in your body. He's been helping," Circlet answered calmly.
"I can't... I can't go to the black market like this," Helios muttered. He gritted his teeth, forced himself to focus, and began healing his damaged body with Spiral Energy.
"You're using the very thing that is harming you. Aren't you smart?" Circlet sighed, his voice beginning to fade. "I'm going. I don't want to see you anymore."