Artemis sat above the Academy's opera house, leaning against the slope of a roof behind them as they stared up at the sky, wind beating against their armor. Audible from outside was "Serenata do Adeus" by Eiza Larenjeira. Artemis immersed herself in the haunting sounds of their symphony. A ship from afar passed by, exiting the planet's atmosphere, triggering a violent, flickering, fiery reaction as it dipped into the inky black beyond the layer of blue.
The large soldier unconsciously hummed along, swaying lightly to the song's tempo. It reminded her of her days as a Scout, on Batthia, a planet covered in snow manifested through liquid Ambrosia. Flakes of aberrated, white snow, almost ethereal. Ambrosia has been said to be the blood of the Gods-- the Gods who had abandoned the world thousands of years ago, leaving Haracon Merimadys behind, scattering the races across the various planets within the Numen Solar Cluster.
The Gods still exist and still provide their power to the people of the universe, but through the Abandonment, they have taken on a more passive role in directing the universe's mortalkind.
2850 on Haracon Merimadys, the Tachyon lineage had cut the world entirely off from any possible contact with other planets within the Numen Solar Cluster, making it illegal to create a means for space travel in the hopes that the Gods of old would return to their world. They did not, so a sibling lineage to the Tachyon family took matters into their own hands, specifically, the first Numen Imperator, Orion Maxylicon Halcyon.
Through Orion's rebellion, the means of space travel were restored to the people of Haracon Merimadys, thereby establishing the Haracon Imperium.
2895, Orion, the first Numen Imperator, met its end, just before de-aging technology was established for long-distance space travel. In the wake of their father's death, Phastoros Zamiel Halycon was crowned the next Numen Imperator at the age of 57. They were a kind leader, but this led to decades of stagnancy within the Imperium. The Numen Solar Cluster was peaceful, but through that peace, no progress had been made within the wider spacefaring region. This could be explained by Phastoros being ill to some degree when he was the Imperator. They had enough of a will to provide input in interstellar matters, but not enough strength to bring about a new age of spacefaring within the world.
Where Phastoros lacked, his daughter took charge —Esmerel Sorenti Halycon. The Numen Imperium spread its influence across the Cluster in the form of various duchies that lived under its rule. Esmerel practically birthed the duchies that we know of today, which have lasted for thousands of years and may last for thousands more. These duchies comprised the Mortui, the Benejestria, the De Oro Family, the Regis, the Deodecorum, and the Holden Duchy.
Through this expansion of the Haracon Imperium's influence, a new Duchy had emerged to oppose the Imperium's forces. A duchy known for its expertise in battle and combat maneuvers through both ground and spatial means-- specializing in naval combat.
The Dispute of Blades had been born, occurring during the year 2897 on the Cluster's Universal Calendar—the Lao'gua Riang family opposed the Imperium. The battle had been waged for nearly two to three years, during which the Imperium flooded its oceans with soldiers and mechanized battlesuits, only to meet an almost equal show of force from the Lao'gua Riang Duchy itself.
The battle ended in 2899, after which the two forces gained mutual respect for one another. Since then, the Lao'gua Riang had been under the Imperium's influence, acting as a family of assassins and warriors to be commanded by the Numen Imperator themselves.
2900, Phastoros had finally succumbed to the accursed illness that had brought almost a decade of stagnation to the Numen Solar Cluster. With that, officially, his daughter, Esmerel Sorenti Halycon, had taken his place as the next Numen Imperator on the throne, being the first female Imperator to lead the galaxy into a greater era. A greater age of technological advancements and evolution!
The Imperatrix, with their Husband, Aberon, sired only two children in their lifetime, and she had not bothered to take on concubines either during her lifespan as the Numen Imperatrix. During these years, as part of her newest initiative, she sent out expeditions into the Prion 5 and Prion 6 solar systems, which lie on the outer rim of the Numen Solar Cluster. The Prion 5 expeditions are specifically a collaboration between the 'Ashbal races that lived on the desert planet of Aljan Althuyuqratia within Numen One Silo-- neighbors of Haracon Merimadys.
In 3859, the first Angel Cases were discovered in the outreaches of the galaxy, in the form of Hunter-Killers and Coffins. The name "Sangilo" originated among the Haracon Imperium from these creatures—the Sangilo Hunter-Killers, massive, monstrous, humanoid creatures with two jutting horns branching from their faces, which were devoid of eyes. In contrast, Coffins were obelisk-like creatures with branching tendrils, barely comprehensible by the mortal eye.
This prompted the expansion of the Imperium's Mech Program, leading to the creation of the Perses Mechs, which allowed for the De Oro family to expand into Prion 3 in 3893.
4228, One of the many expeditions and their existence within the Prion 6 system led to the discovery of a more potent and exceedingly powerful energy source, 10x more effective than Flux Energy, which was compressed magical energy that, until this moment, was used as the present power source throughout the Numen Solar Cluster. The problem with Flux, however, is that it often overheats, necessitating the expulsion of the energy gathered into various Flux capacitors found within vehicles and cybernetics, rendering these objects of interest useless for a few seconds at a time.
4230, After complications within the Planetary Commission-- a Corporate entity formed separately from the Haracon Imperium during its age of expansion across the Numen Solar Cluster.
As this corporate entity grew in power, another organization emerged from it, separate from both the Planetary Commission's corporate control and the Haracon Imperium through the Praefectus Villicus, also known as the Overseers. This organization is dedicated solely to the preservation and protection of mortalkind against corporate or selfish interests.
Due to the rising dangers posed by Angel Cases. The various anomalies found within space, due to constant expansion efforts by the other two major factions, made it seem as if their hands were forced to keep the peace. This was because, sooner or later, their actions would have grave consequences, and they were right.
In 4240, an incident occured within Prion 3, pushing the De Oro Duchy out of the solar system, which led to the deaths of billions. After further research, they established that this was an Angel Case that originated on the planet Mundo Ahumando and had spread to the other planets in the solar system, forcing the Overseers to immediately close off the Solar System for future exploration and use.
Further research concluded that anything that survived and attempted to leave the solar system appeared to have been infected with a bizarre mechanical parasite that causes immediate biomorphosis to anything within a 100-mile radius, which causes a massive chain reaction, which comes to reason as to why the Praefectus Villicus chooses to execute anyone attempting to leave the Solar System's planetary belt.
This incident prompted further efforts to prevent outerworld contact with any other known Angel Cases that are as volatile. An example of another planet being in their protection for such a reason is Lik Risanna.
5252, Esmerel the Numen Imperatrix had supposedly gone missing, prompting the quick succession of her son, Ezekiel.
The Numen Imperator, Ezekiel, initiated close communications with Jamal, a leader of the Atfalan People, with whom they had a close collaborative relationship. This led the Imperator at the time to assist the Atfalan people during an Expanding Civil war they were having against the Itha'keen in 5260 on the planet of Batthia, within Prion 6.
5265, the Planetary Commission took notice of the tensions on Batthia. It made their move, forcing Ezekiel to support their raid on the planet's soil, which led to the discovery of Ambrosia. For ten years, Ambrosia was kept close to the Planetary Commission's chest until, due to tensions between the Royal Lineage that had begun to develop, a massive war for the sake of Ambrosia broke out on Prion 6 —primarily between Batthia and its various moons.
Eventually, during this time, around 5266 to 5470, Ezekiel is killed, leading to the swift succession of his son, Salamon Aberon Halycon.
Salamon led their campaign to overtake Batthia with an iron fist, suppressing both rebel factions and paving the way for the regular cultivation of Ambrosia. Its existence is publicized, but its value is severely undermined, as the kingdom of Halcyon seeks to avoid outside interference from the various families within the Numen Solar Cluster.
Still seen as immensely valuable, almost as useful as Flux as a resource, but with the bonus of ease of space travel. This violent upheaval halted the corporate war between the Planetary Commission and the Haracon Imperium.
It was only in 5524 on the universal calendar when the war had officially come to an end between the Haracon Imperium and the Planetary Commission through a truce, as the Haracon Imperium had forfeited all assets relating to Ambrosia production to the Planetary Commission, leading to a close collaboration between the two factions until this very day.
With this and the new alliance created between the Haracon Imperium and the Planetary Commission, war was waged against the systems of Numen Three Spire, Prion Six Latia, and the Benejestria, which, at the time, opposed the Haracon Imperium and had a majority rule over Luma Sanctus and production and trade that came in and out from the planet.
5700, the current leader of the Haracon Imperium, and current Numen Imperator, Ryglax, along with the Sangilo, Daemon Generalis, Xalakax Roux, usurped the previous Numen Imperator, Salamon, who, at the time, was referred to as the Diabolus Imperator. Xalakax, the Daemon Generalis of the Sangilo, was the one to lay out his execution of Salamon himself as the red-headed Ryglax watched on with an amber gaze to the populace below, watching as the Devil of an Emperor was laid to rest.
Almost two decades after Salamon was slain, the Knights of God were established, otherwise known officially as the Sangilo; the first of these to enter the public consciousness was Xalakax himself.
Sangilo was referred to as the Knights of God due to an ancient myth. This myth referred to the Hunter-Killers, whose most populous forces were lovingly named after the infamous and destructive Angel that shared their name.
Sangilo had existed for many millennia at this point — those that served the Numen Imperator, that is — but were only made public in 5722 as a ploy by Ryglax to gain favor among their people.
Sangilo were deadly soldiers dedicated to guerrilla operations revolving around the assassinations of essential figures. Powerful, beastly things they were and still are.
The rankings for the Sangilo were listed as follows: Scouts were the lowest form of the Sangilo, being those without classification or rank—rookies training to find their place amongst their kind. Assassins, lankier, meant to fit in. Those of the Sangilo who did not fit into their bulkier or more intelligent classifications were assigned to more dexterous pursuits —experts in disguising themselves, espionage, and similar endeavors—confessors for the Imperium.
Sangilo Hunters: Massive, bulky killing machines clad in armor, faces obscured. The armor sported a variety of separate layers built in to diminish outside damage, and exoskeleton supports meant to support and assist the body in its combative pursuits. Additionally, aside from their genetic implementations, the suit itself provides the Sangilo with an Oxygenated Breathing Port through the noise that is directly connection to a small module set right above the chest of the suit, situated straight into the middle of the collar of their armor which is then connected to due breathing tubes that contain the oxygen that is produced from the carbon which is cycled directly through the Oxygenated Breathing Port itself. Additionally, a gas mask is directly connected to a helmet sealed to the armor itself, designed to survive gaseous, spatial, and air-deprived environments. This, in addition to their built-in Lashing Converters, which can lash them to any object as if the gravity of that object had become their own, and the built-in Stillsuit, which sustains the body in harsher environments where food and water are not readily available. Meant for hunting, meant for killing, and especially so, meant to survive for as long as possible.
Reapers and Librarians are of equal measure to each other. Reapers come from the branch of Sangilo that happened to have been Assassins. Similar to their predecessors, their bodies were built more for dexterous pursuits but were equipped with a variety of cybernetic or armor-based enhancements to assist them in combat, making them potent and violent killing machines.
Compared to their Hunter-Killer counterparts, they were not designed for prolonged confrontation, but rather for swift and efficient killing. The armor is similar to that of the Hunter-Killer. However, the layers are streamlined, optimized for ease of movement and survivability, thanks to their built-in Stillsuit and Oxygenated Breathing Port.
Librarians were experts in Hermetic Coding, producing magical effects through the use of Hermetic Code. The use of the Hermetic Code stems from its manifestation in Flux, taking on a more comprehensive, physical, and tangible form—the Mages of the Sangilo. The fact alone that they had the bodies and capabilities of a Sangilo, combined with their expertise within Hermetic Coding, should show how powerful they were, deserving of the rank they had above Hunter-Killers.
Reapers, however, could not be considered such, but instead were more experienced, more prioritized compared to their counterparts, more fitted as Infantry rather than important figures within an army, which the Reapers represented themselves as.
There are ranks above this, but that is for another day, as only a couple of years after the Sangilo were finally revealed to the public consciousness, Perses had begun their arms race to the top of the totem pole within the society of the Numen Solar Cluster.
5724, with this domination within Perses and Perses pilots, came the official creation of Lumanbell, which took to the skies of Luma Sanctus, where an Academy of the same name had begun to gain prominence, providing Military Training, Perses Training, and basic education for many others. Due to this ever-expanding reach into Perses Technology and broad approach to teaching, it was no wonder the Academy had grown to be what it is today.
And now, in 5762, a Sangilo Hunter-Killer is laid out on the roof of one of this Academy's buildings, watching the sky alight with ships entering and exiting Luma Sanctus's atmosphere.
Against her better judgment, as the singing left the Opera House, Artemis entered the building, where she was met with sprawling, intricate marble architecture that stretched out for hundreds of meters. A place like this, not reduced to rubble... it was nothing short of a miracle. In her time as a soldier, she would often imagine what these pieces of mortal achievement would've looked like if they were not bombed or littered with holes. The full majesty was lost on her until now.
She crossed to the other end of the Opera House, over to where she assumed the singers had stood, right on a stage set into a wall. The sun beat against the stained windows, giving the room a reddish, yellow hue. Comforting colors, easy on the eyes.
Artemis stood on the stage, looking down, following the shifting colors with her eyes as the sun waned.
"Scary... seeing a visitor like you here."
Artemis spun around to the sound of the voice, looking down to see a small, younger man wearing a pair of round glasses and a beard set upon his face. Their eyes were of a brighter hue, not quite blue, not quite green, and not dark enough to be considered light eyes in some circles, similar to Artemis herself.
"You uh... a Grim Reaper, or something?" They chuckled to themselves, clearly nervous by their present but keeping a positive attitude all the while. "Well... make it quick. I'd rather not--"
Artemis cut off his words. "I am no Grim Reaper."
The man smiled. "It was a jest... half-jest." He swallowed. What brings a... soldier like yourself to my humblest of-- not mine. It isn't mine. I don't own anything here but... the questions still stand. I do have... uh... You get what I'm asking, right?"
"I..."
"Are you...? I feel like-- You're that Warrior, the one the Principal had mentioned to us. You are the guard of Beatrice Holden, yes?"
"I am..."
He nodded with a huff, crossing over to the stage itself before sitting on its hard, marble surface. "Well... what brings you here? Did Beatrice decide to get back into playing the piano?"
"She plays the piano?"
"She used to play the piano."
Artemis stood there for a moment, quiet. "No. I... I was curious about the sounds."
"The song?"
Artemis nodded. "Yes... the song. I was drawn to the song."
"Well... I am drawn to song, too. What drew you to this song in particular, dear Warrior?"
Artemis stood in silence once more, considering the question, attempting to formulate an answer but failing to find the words. "I... I think I liked it... I wanted to hear more..."
"I like music too. I'd like to hear it more as well."
"Are you... a conductor?"
"No, an instructor."
Artemis nodded in affirmation, taking in the man's form before her. "I am Artemis."
His eyebrows raised in surprise. "Oh? You have a name." The man smiled, "I am Breinhen Santos. Just a measly human, though, at least, compared to you." They chuckled, gesturing to the giantess before him.
"It is a pleasure to meet you."
"You liked the music?"
Artemis nodded. "I... I believe I did. I've never heard anything like it."
A somber expression fell across the man's face. "I see... well. Isn't it great that you heard it now? That you've heard such things before you leave this world?"
"I do not believe I would leave this world anytime soon."
"Nobody thinks so. You never know which day will be your last, after all. I'm just... saying... isn't it nice? Thinking that, if this were your last day, you would be able to listen to such things? To be blessed by sounds you thought you would never hear in your life?"
Artemis stood, considering his words for a moment, looking out to the Cathedral of an Opera House before her. "Yeah... I think so..."
"It drew you into my palace. Why not sit with me?"
Artemis nodded, sitting down beside the gentleman. Her tail flicked curiously at his words, staring. "I... I want to hear more music."
"Oh?" Beinhen smiled, "I didn't know Sangilo could want. You want to hear more, yes?"
"I do."
"Where did you learn this free will of yours?"
"I..." Artemis paused. "Is this free will? I feel this is menial, no?"
"But you're taking a step forward, yes? A step forward for your independence-- or at least, a fraction of it, so to speak."
"I don't know... am I?"
"From where I'm sitting, I think so. Shouldn't you be with the young Holden girl?"
Artemis looked downcast for a moment. "I suppose I should."
"Do you want to, though?"
Artemis considered the words for a moment. "I do... I... struggle to be around them at the moment. They seem to despise my existence... I cannot blame them, however, for I find the things that I have committed to be detestable as well."
"Isn't that evidence of change, then?"
Artemis turned to look at the man clearly. "Is it?"
"I believe so..." He paused. "Would you like to learn about music, Artemis? The wonders of it?"
Artemis's tail flicked wildly about. "Sorry...?"
"Would you want to learn about music? Would you like to sing? Play the piano? What would you like to do with music?"
Too many decisions at once left the quick-thinking soldier stunned momentarily. "I... I would like that... I-I would really like that."
"Alright... what do you want to learn first?"
Artemis was stunned once again, staring down at Breinhen with a quizzical stare, even behind the veil of a mask. "I... I-I don't know where to start."
"L-Let's..." The man chuckled. "Let's start with something more technical. It'll probably be something more than you're used to. How about the piano?"
"Piano...?"
"Yes, come with me."
Both Artemis and Breinhen make their way across the campus, finding their way into the music room of the Academy. As they entered, the instructor quickly crossed to the other end of the room to the wooden and ivory frame of a piano, sitting down onto the bench set out in front of it with a huff. "That is a piano?" Artemis asked, curiously, circling the instrument like a stalking wolf.
"Uh... a little unrelated, but are you going to continue to wear that mask of yours?"
Artemis stopped in their tracks. "Apologies." She reached behind the mask, unlatched it from her armor, and set it aside on one of the many seats in this classroom.
Breinhen smiled. "I'm surprised you persist in keeping that mask on. You're a beautiful woman." He commented respectfully, nodding in affirmation.
Artemis gave a conflicted expression, closing in on the piano itself. "So... how do--"
Artemis is cut off by the sudden sound of Breinhen pressing down on one of the keys, causing her ears and tail to perk up in alarm. He chuckled. "Did that startle you?" Artemis did not respond, but showed a face full of expectation, as if encouraging him to continue, which he did. "Follow my movements, it's fine if you can't get it the first time, you're inexperienced after all, but regardless, if you want to learn, it is great to have a visual medium."
He sighed, fingers gliding against the piano keys before pressing down into the slow, melodic tune of "Clair De Lune". Breinhen's fingers sank deep into the keys, lingering before switching to another note that lingered evermore. His body swayed with his own movements, immersing himself in the music, his eyes flickering between the two hands, a faint smile creeping across his bearded face.
The tempo sped up, fingers firing across the keys, a heavy concentration in Breinhen's eyes, a steady breath, the tune slowing down once more, lingering on the moment.
Artemis couldn't help but be reminded of a time long ago. Batthia, snow beating down onto her face as she lay half-dead in a deep ravine, a Fatali soldier lying half-dead across from her as well, their darker complexion smiling, lit up by the light of the moon above.
"Why don't you try playing something?" Artemis is pulled out from the memory, Breinhen looking up at her. "Sit." He gestured to the bench.
Artemis sat down next to the man with little to no hesitation.
"Maybe you should forgo the gloves?"
Artemis looked down at her own hands, covered in graphene leather due to the armor she wore. Luckily, the suit was malleable from the inside, and all she had to do was pull her hand through the graphene glove itself to reveal her scarred fingers and palm. Artemis gently placed her hands against the keys of the piano, then looked at Breinhen for a sign of approval.
"There you go." He set his hand on the other end of the piano, which was dwarfed in size by Artemis's hands. Going slowly, he placed his pinky on a D key of the piano, his thumb on the other end, on another D key, focusing on the keys' whites, not touching the black keys. Breinhen pressed down, lingering for a moment before letting go.
Artemis followed his hand, attempting to get her fingers on her left hand in the same position. As she positioned herself, Breinhen assisted, pointing her to her side of the keyboard and indicating which D keys she should focus on. Then, she pressed down, lingering for as long as he had before letting go.
"Okay, good." He motioned to the far end of the piano, to the leftmost side where Artemis was, and pointed to two of the black keys, placing his own fingers in a similar position. "B flats." He pressed down, lingering for a moment once more, keeping his ring finger on the leftmost B flat before finally letting go, raising his hand again, waiting for Artemis to do the same. Artemis flicked her gaze from his hand back to the piano keys, mimicking his movements as she slowly placed her fingers where he had seemingly directed her.
She missed the keys somewhat, but was corrected, finally holding down on the tune, before letting go as he did earlier.
"Between F Sharp and A flat," He pressed down onto the G keys of the piano with their ring finger and thumb once more. The tune did not last long, quickly switching over to two A keys, "Between A flat and B flat."
"What is this song?"
"Not a whole song, it's only one segment of Serenade. The simplest part." He paused, letting go of the key before tapping a single finger onto the D key between D flat and an E flat on his side of the piano, before breaking out into the remainder of the song.
Artemis tried her best to follow along, but failing to do so, as she fell out of tune multiple times, which elicited a chuckle from the human instructor.
After an hour of practicing, Artemis went on her way, waving goodbye to Breinhen. He sank back into the music room, leaving her behind. Artemis stood there for a moment, taking the moment in before sealing her helmet back over her head, looking out to the window situated just outside, which overlooked the rest of the Academy.
Artemis's thoughts were suddenly interrupted by a transmission sent directly to her by Jackal. She answered, proceeding to make her way back to Beatrice. "Yes?"
"I just got some 'fun' information."
"Fun?"
"Sarcasm-- An Assassin, Sangilo in make has slipped into the Academy's walls."
Artemis whipped around to look at the nearest window, opening it in its entirety before diving outside, lashing herself against the wall, closing the window behind her, which was almost shattered by her massive frame. "How did you get this information?"
"Well, quite simply because someone was killed by one of those blades you have, and well... I wouldn't imagine another Hunter-Killer like you would be able to blend in very well in an environment like this."
"Unless they... no. It's most definitely an Assassin then, I'd be able to spot anybody cloaking within the campus's vicinity." Artemis braced herself against the building, rocketing off its side, causing the windows to shatter against the weight from which she had kicked off its walls.
"I wouldn't imagine it would be convenient to be consistently cloaked out in a place like this, no?"
"No-- they're shapeshifting."
A unique genetic trait of Sangilo Assassins yet to be established — their ability to shapeshift. They were all natural Changelings, after all, their make being that of Sangilo.
Artemis hopped from building to building before landing onto one of the fields of grass below, skating across the ground, barely hovering inches above the concrete and grass above. Eventually, she arrived at the Academy's Hangar.
Beatrice watched from above as the massive black silhouette of her guard came barreling towards the Hangar, causing her to drop from one of the various cranes, allowing her to reach higher points of the Perses she was working on. She landed on her feet, Artemis slowing down as she closed in. "Woah... you can skate?" Beatrice commented as Artemis fell back to the ground, crossing toward her at a brisk pace.
Artemis huffed. "Just wanted to be sure you are alright. An Assassin had just entered the Academy's premises."
"A-An Assassin!?"
"One of my kind, no less. They had a blade similar to my own." Artemis unsheathed the weapon, revealing what looked to be a massive knife in her hands, a sword in another's-- entirely made in a bone-like substance, referred to as the standard Sangilo Combat Knife, said to have been made from the bones of actual Sangilo Angel Cases. "Jackal found a corpse that had wounds that could have only come from a blade like this one."
"Yo! Put it away-- we're in a public space!"
Artemis didn't bother to see if what Beatrice said was correct, simply slipping the blade back into its sheath as her point had been made.
"Why is there an Assassin here? W-Wait-- also, you said they were a Sangilo?"
"It is best to assume as such."
"Is... T-they might not even be after me, why are you so cautious? There are plenty of people here that could be targets... I think."
"We are not sure if the target is you, but we had already predicted that force would come eventually to make attempts on your life. Now that a body has been confirmed, we must take action."
"Well... first off. Before you guys make any assumptions, do we know anything else about the person who died? Method? Y'get where I'm getting at?"
Artemis thought on it for a moment, connecting with Jackal once again. "Can I get more information on the deceased?"
***
The body was mutilated entirely, burnt beyond recognition; the only recognizable aspects of the body were the remnant scars of a Sangilo Combat Knife. The cuts were too clean, and... Artemis kneeled, "Teeth removed... face is gone-- it's just bone where the face should've been."
Beatrice stayed far away, sat behind the corner, nose and mouth covered by a cloth as ALTAQIA authorities examined the crime scene. "W-Why the hell would there be a face!? They were fuckin' burnt, no!?"
Artemis exited the alleyway and then pointed at her nose. "Simple as." She then gestured to where her lips would be, and then to her eyes. "There would be evidence of singing around these areas as well, but instead, the gums are exposed, and any visible bone that would appear around the gums or mouth had been completely removed." Artemis paused for a moment as if expecting Beatrice to say something before continuing. "This isn't a distraction-- they used this body as a disguise. They removed all necessary DNA to identify the victim-- or at least, delay the investigation significantly so that they could make their move."
"This is creepy. Why are we even checking this shit out? What if it has nothing to do with us? What then?" Beatrice asked almost smugly, but it is evident that she was worried, finding it difficult to accept the situation she might be dragged into if what Artemis said was true.
The Sangilo Soldier couldn't help but pause at Beatrice's question, gazing back down the alleyway. There was a moment of silence, Beatrice waiting for a reaction as seconds, nearly a minute, passed. Artemis looked back down at Beatrice, "I... Would you believe me if I said that I didn't want people to be hurt?"
"And what about me?"
"Especially so..."
Beatrice threw her hands in the air. "I don't know. Let's go back to my place. I want to sleep this shit away, and hopefully, it'll be done and over with by the time tomorrow comes."
"Okay..."