I'm sitting in my cage, chewing on a bone, waiting for the phone call they told me to expect. The phone in my hand is old and has a cracked touch screen, but I could never bring myself to let it go and buy a new one. It's the only thing that still connects me to my old life.
The bone breaks between my sharp teeth, so I start nonchalantly chewing the part that's in my mouth. As I'm doing that, I hear a door open, followed by metallic footsteps in the hallway.
It doesn't take long for the cause of these sounds to turn a corner and become visible. He's wearing an extremely heavy metallic armor that fully encases his body. Magic channels run from a large gemstone embedded in the chestpiece all the way to the tips of his fingers and feet. His metal mask joins seamlessly with the rest of his helmet, making it look like a single piece. The man with the best equipment of all of us, the proud owner of the only suit of level 110 armor in the world.
"Knight! I didn't think you'd come visit me again for a while. Weren't you being shipped in the middle of the ocean or something?"
"My mission there was completed long ago, Chimera. You need to pay more attention to our internal communications."
That voice modulator still gives me the creeps. Wouldn't have our good old Knight any other way though.
"Aaaargh, but that's boring! You keep talking about serious stuff like money and who's doing what and grand plans for the future. I just want to go out there and sink my teeth into a level 100 or two."
"Your boundless desire to fight is the reason you're in this cage. You would do well to find ways to calm yourself."
"Fighting is how I calm myself! And it's not like I can't just break out of here whenever I want, I'm showing great restraint by obeying Seer's orders."
I can't see his face because of the helmet, but I can tell that he's not amused by my comment. He's always been too serious, he needs to allow himself to be more carefree at times. Well, it's probably good for him to be like this, the minute he lets his guard down is the minute I'll sample his flesh.
The others are weak, so I'm not interested in them, but Knight is strong. Under the hard shell of his armor is a whole body covered in delicious meat. I've been salivating about it ever since I met him. The previous Knight wasn't nearly as appetizing.
I start feeling an itch under one of the scales on my left cheek. I bring my hand up to it and use my claw to remove a little bit of dust that had lodged itself there. Too bad, that's not edible.
As I take another bite of the broken bone in my hand, our phones start ringing. We both answer the call and hear Seer's familiar voice, distorted by his own mask, at the other end:
"Hello, everyone. We rarely meet everyone together like this, so as you might suspect, I have big news."
Uh? That's not everyone! I intervene:
"What do you mean, 'everyone together like this'? Architect is clearly absent."
"It is as you say, and that is precisely the reason behind this call. Architect has been killed. Despite his unique power that seemingly made him invincible, we have received confirmation that he no longer lives."
What? How?
I bring my hand to the spot on my leg that Architect had branded. The mark itself is still there, but there's no magic within it anymore. That means I can finally attack and eat him! Ah, wait, no. He's dead.
I can't help but smile at the news, however. If Architect is dead, someone must have killed him. Someone who was able to take down that piece of shit must be very strong, and thus absolutely delicious. I really hope they unleash me on them, I haven't had human flesh in so long!
"His mask is currently in the possession of a level 100 adventurer named Matt. According to my contact at the NAA, that adventurer is the one who defeated him. As is tradition, he will be offered to join us and become the next Architect. I'm counting on all of you to not interfere with this process."
Awwww, I really hoped they would let me go and take care of him, but I guess that is how we roll around here. I did become the current Chimera by killing and eating the previous one, after all. Well, if he refuses the seat, I'll have my chance. Let's just hope this Matt person doesn't know what's best for him.
"Traveler, you shall be the first one to initiate contact with him. Now is not a good time, but he will be returning home to a smaller town during the winter vacations. He will be with his family there, so feel free to do with them as you wish to convince him to put the mask on, but do not underestimate him. He rose from level 8 to level 100 in less than a month, so he is certain to have tricks up his sleeve."
"I understand, Seer. I will be careful."
"The rest of you must remain on standby. Knight, you will be called first if there's trouble dealing with Matt, and should remain near him for this reason. Chimera, you will be sent in if Knight fails. Keeper, you must be ready to complete a full analysis of Matt's blood and magic power as soon as you receive some samples. I will remain focused on my usual task and send you relevant information as I acquire it. Are there any questions?"
Now's my chance.
"Yeah, I got one. Why's Knight going there first if we get trouble and not me?"
"Because you are a wildcard, and there's no guarantee that we won't have to cover up the massacre of an entire village if we send you there with Traveler. You've given us enough trouble already last time."
"I'm not interested in the flesh of weaklings anymore! Come on, I'm tired of this cage!"
"Then reflect upon your past actions and wise up. You shall not be granted any new missions until I judge you've sufficiently grown."
How am I supposed to grow if they don't even let me hunt?
I scratch around the metal necklace that's fused to my skin. Everyone else gets a cool voice-changing mask while I only get a collar, and they get to go on missions while I'm stuck in a cage. I thought I had hit the jackpot when they offered me to join them, but they're seriously way too strict. So what if I killed a few random people on my hunts? It's not like they were important for our greater plans anyway.
"If there are no more questions, we shall end this conversation here. You will receive a complete report on the situation soon."
And with that, the call ends.
So Matt needs to defeat Knight for me to be allowed to challenge him.
"Knight."
He turns towards me, his facial expression hidden behind his mask, like always. I continue:
"You better lose to that guy. I need to stretch my muscles and he seems like an interesting prey."
"My involvement will not be necessary if he accepts Traveler's offer and becomes the next Architect, and I will not purposefully fail a task simply so you can have your fun."
"Awww, I thought we were closer than that! Come on, do it for a friend!"
"You disgust me to the highest degree, and I would be ashamed if I ever found myself thinking of you as a friend."
Yeah, well, the feeling's mutual. I guess I'm not going to convince him.
Well then, Matt, whoever you are, I'm rooting for you. Beat that bastard so I can come and rip your head off.
Arc 2: Lost Minds - End
