The Supernaturals
The world has somewhat become apathetic when it comes to saving lives. Of course, if it’s your job, then there isn’t much to think about. You do what you do. It is your job. It’s what you signed up for. You can think of it as your role. If you’re a medic, then you do what you’re paid to do. One rule you have to learn in this world is you keep your nose out of people’s business.
Don’t stick your foot into places it doesn’t belong. It’s common sense to stick to your role and in our case. We investigate anomalies. The politics of the supernatural are not ours to play with and in our case our job is to know what the anomaly is and report it to Sato.
The case with the concrete man can’t be helped because we were trying to find our way to the concrete man. We needed to fight the undead to get info and also contribute to the defense of the lanes hence we had to go out and fight to get anything. But things are different now we’ve to deal with a threat that will damn us if we step on the toes of these powerful people.
Monsters, cryptids, and anomalies are rather simplistic. But Vampires and the likes are simply dangerous because of how long they have been playing their game of shadows. Lurking the shadows long before people came to know of the existence of these beings. Even before the moon broadcast which revealed to all the truth of the world they live and monsters certainly do exist.
Before the creation of the Otherside Bureau, and the The Church Union. The Grand Inquisition handled all supernatural threats under the shadows
Founded by King Solomon to protect mankind. Defeated by a group of Cabals and was refounded by St. Peter and later on reformed by St. Ignatius of Loyola secretly.
The hidden side of the world is quite fascinating and yet none of it could match the secrets of the Grand Inquisition, eventually founding the Otherside Bureau and allegedly was one of the founders of The Church Union.
We already have enough problems just by hunting down anomalies. Getting into trouble with the Supernaturals doesn’t end well. Especially when some of these monsters have deep pockets and even in this era. Money speaks louder than skin, race, and alliances. Who cares if you’re a blood-sucking bastard when you have enough cash to make them think you’re a God?
It’s probably why they have the guts to attack the armored train. They can take on the heat. It’s making me evaluate what this anomaly is and what uses it can be to allow the clans to defend it and make strikes against a train full of people heading to Vultan.
The fighting didn’t stop as the train gained another distance. Hours of heavy weaponry firing can be maddening and it doesn’t help the train itself seems to groan everytime a shell hits the side.
Marvin’s spent from maintaining the pentacle. Eta’s gone full silent as she saves energy, her fusion breeder cells saving up the energy she needed to function at her 100%.
It’s just Kei and I in the room watching the digital window to observe the landscape outside of the armored train. Make no mistake, the armored train is still firing even as we sit, but after the tail of the train got butchered. The train picked up speed and now it’s just an effort of the enemy trying to hit the train.
It’s not like they are just trying to topple the train. At this point it’s more like they are banging the hulls to make us feel tired and nervous.
They did their best in slaughtering the tail of the train and honestly I do believe they surely knew how firing at the train itself wouldn’t do anything. The train is large and if they want to really fuck the train up. They’d just blow the rail track up. It’s the fastest way to derail the armored train and yet they don’t. It’s simply not beneficial for them if they destroy the railway. But mostly it’s just going to be fixed up the next day and having a bounty on your head isn’t worth the price. And that is if you can even come close to the railway without the security picking it up and doing their best to annihilate you.
And some of the supernatural clans do invest in the railway. The supernaturals have a knack for controlling advisors, middle management types, and specialists in key positions to keep their wealth rolling. The supernaturals are constantly fighting amongst themselves, sometimes even within the same clan and their greed keeps them from having too many hands because of how competitive they are. And the railway business is too good to destroy.
The railways connect them and there’s simply no benefit in destroying what they use too. Not when monsters are around and being separated from other cities can be a nightmare to landlocked cities without access to water.
But it’s not like they haven’t tried. The thing is the moment you destroy a railway track; it gathers unwanted attention and the power in that region would love nothing more than to make you pay for it. It disrupts trade. It makes people who treat money as their deity angry and whether you are human, vampire or a monster. They will come after you and take care of you before you become a bigger problem that needs solving. Isn't it quite funny?
They might want to keep others out, but they don’t want to die in their cities either. Travel by train is simply the most efficient in the current world. You can carry more goods and travel safer without worrying about some undersea monster sinking your boat or a winged abomination clipping the wings of your plane.
And even if they do want to keep us out by cutting access and halting the train’s schedule. The train itself is armed with enough guns and security to ensure its following schedule.
Is what I thought as the train halted its engine. The train operator made a cold announcement of the destroyed track. The train carried spare railways and with the drones working and the security forces guarding the perimeter.
It didn’t take long for air support to arrive. Leaving everyone in grim thought as they think what this all means. Kei is watching the drone footage. Her mind is elsewhere as she thinks of every possibility.
“We’re biting more than we can chew.”
She remarked with such a tone that isn’t usually like her.
“Guess this is bigger than Sato told us.”
“Indeed. He might know, but if they destroyed the railway. Then that means they know what they are trying to fight. Akun, do you know what happens to threats that go beyond the Otherside Bureau and TCU’s control?”
“We drop the sun on them.”
“Exactly. They aren’t going to hesitate to do that if they think the situation is beyond what they can handle. They’ll drop the sun on them and call it done.”
“You think they will?”
Kei nods curtly. She takes a glance at her transmitter and shows me the notification for the destroyed railway. The bounty for this is going to be huge and if anything. This just attracted a lot of bounty hunters to Vultan.
“It’s a shitshow now, my assistant. These bastards are attracting a lot of moths to the flame. It’s bothering me.”
“It is. This isn’t their usual MO and it’s bad news when the supernaturals change how they operate.”
“Means they really do think this will change anything. Which leaves me to question why they are gathering so many of us into one place.”
It sounds like they need bodies. Kei seems to think so too since big rituals usually need a lot of sacrifices. Citizens can contribute their life energy, but operatives of the OB and the TCU have a lot to contribute. You don’t have to be a genius to figure that out and the worst part is we’d still have to go to Vultan despite knowing all of this.
“We don’t know much other than there might be an anomaly that can grant them strength. But why do they need so many people to gather?”
Kei repeats. The higher the people the higher the concentration of life energy is.
“Could be part of their ritual. Blood sacrifice through chaos.”
Kei raises a finger as if doing so could help her make a point.
“Yes. It would make sense if it’s simply just a ritual. But we know they are using an anomaly. An anomaly they are so confident about. As far as we know, there isn’t an anomaly-based ritual the supernaturals know. And believe me I’ve looked for Diabolists and Scribes and they’ve said nothing about any anomaly being part of a mage ritual. Anomalies are rare and they differ based on their environment. It is form from whatever made it appear in the first place.”
Most of the time that’s how it is. I thought back to our previous cases, and the readings I made while we didn’t have to look for any rumors or talk to clients.
“Do you think they cultivated an anomaly of their own?”
Kei became grim at the thought of that.
“Anoms are natural reality warpers. They bend the area around them and change the physiology of a creature. Some extend spaces and some changes to something we cannot fully fathom. If they manage to do that, then do you know what it would mean?”
Power. The ability to cultivate your own anomaly and turn it into what you can use for your own. Which means if you have the right formula, then it would change the world.
“The thought of it is terrifying.”
“We might get another risk event too.”
Kei clicked her tongue. She sunk her back on the seat and kneaded her forehead. She looks at Marvin and Eta who is barely conscious.
“And here I thought we’d just after some info about some bloodsucker’s dream of sustainable food.”
“Maybe it's just that.”
“Let’s hope it is. But whatever they are planning. Vultan is the center of their plans.”
“Question is how do we avoid getting involved, Ma’am.”
“Who knows? Once we step into Vultan we can’t be neutral. We already pick our sides and the supernaturals aren’t the kind who are willing to speak to us naturally. They’re even worse than the Fourth Reich citizens when it comes to speaking about their superiority.”
“Other than the folks in Changye. Who do you think is interested in what will happen in Vultan?”
“Officially there’s no notice about what’s happening here. All they know is something in Vultan needs culling. But those who got the job are going to be attending this shitshow.”
“You mean other countries?”
“Well, of course you can expect the superpowers to try and get a piece of this anomaly. Our Neo Templar friends might preach about their mission to cull evil, but there’s no way they aren’t interested in the anomaly. Assistant, knowledge is everything in this era. And even if they aren’t solely interested in the anomaly like we are. There is a price they can win that is worth making their way to Vultan. What is that price? I don’t know. But it warrants enough for them to send a force in Vultan. Sato sure have fucked us over with this one. And I’m sure Vaun will do his best to make sure we don’t get any ideas about not trying in our task.”
“Is Sato always this demanding?”
“Not really. He did give us tasks before, but I guess we used up all our favors and now he needs something from us.”
“Price seems too high.”
“It’s not. If anything he’s investing a lot. I’m more worried about his sincerity. Vaun being around is enough of a sign to me.”
“That we can’t fuck this up?”
“Yeah. I’m not sure if he actually trusts us or not. I wouldn’t refuse the help since a graded agent’s not a bad thing to have in a place like Vultan. But even Vaun isn’t going to be enough if we have an entire army of supernatural after our asses.”
The Supernaturals
The world has somewhat become apathetic when it comes to saving lives. Of course, if it’s your job, then there isn’t much to think about. You do what you do. It is your job. It’s what you signed up for. You can think of it as your role. If you’re a medic, then you do what you’re paid to do. One rule you have to learn in this world is you keep your nose out of people’s business.
Don’t stick your foot into places it doesn’t belong. It’s common sense to stick to your role and in our case. We investigate anomalies. The politics of the supernatural are not ours to play with and in our case our job is to know what the anomaly is and report it to Sato.
The case with the concrete man can’t be helped because we were trying to find our way to the concrete man. We needed to fight the undead to get info and also contribute to the defense of the lanes hence we had to go out and fight to get anything. But things are different now we’ve to deal with a threat that will damn us if we step on the toes of these powerful people.
Monsters, cryptids, and anomalies are rather simplistic. But Vampires and the likes are simply dangerous because of how long they have been playing their game of shadows. Lurking the shadows long before people came to know of the existence of these beings. Even before the moon broadcast which revealed to all the truth of the world they live and monsters certainly do exist.
Before the creation of the Otherside Bureau, and the The Church Union. The Grand Inquisition handled all supernatural threats under the shadows
Founded by King Solomon to protect mankind. Defeated by a group of Cabals and was refounded by St. Peter and later on reformed by St. Ignatius of Loyola secretly.
The hidden side of the world is quite fascinating and yet none of it could match the secrets of the Grand Inquisition, eventually founding the Otherside Bureau and allegedly was one of the founders of The Church Union.
We already have enough problems just by hunting down anomalies. Getting into trouble with the Supernaturals doesn’t end well. Especially when some of these monsters have deep pockets and even in this era. Money speaks louder than skin, race, and alliances. Who cares if you’re a blood-sucking bastard when you have enough cash to make them think you’re a God?
It’s probably why they have the guts to attack the armored train. They can take on the heat. It’s making me evaluate what this anomaly is and what uses it can be to allow the clans to defend it and make strikes against a train full of people heading to Vultan.
The fighting didn’t stop as the train gained another distance. Hours of heavy weaponry firing can be maddening and it doesn’t help the train itself seems to groan everytime a shell hits the side.
Marvin’s spent from maintaining the pentacle. Eta’s gone full silent as she saves energy, her fusion breeder cells saving up the energy she needed to function at her 100%.
It’s just Kei and I in the room watching the digital window to observe the landscape outside of the armored train. Make no mistake, the armored train is still firing even as we sit, but after the tail of the train got butchered. The train picked up speed and now it’s just an effort of the enemy trying to hit the train.
It’s not like they are just trying to topple the train. At this point it’s more like they are banging the hulls to make us feel tired and nervous.
They did their best in slaughtering the tail of the train and honestly I do believe they surely knew how firing at the train itself wouldn’t do anything. The train is large and if they want to really fuck the train up. They’d just blow the rail track up. It’s the fastest way to derail the armored train and yet they don’t. It’s simply not beneficial for them if they destroy the railway. But mostly it’s just going to be fixed up the next day and having a bounty on your head isn’t worth the price. And that is if you can even come close to the railway without the security picking it up and doing their best to annihilate you.
And some of the supernatural clans do invest in the railway. The supernaturals have a knack for controlling advisors, middle management types, and specialists in key positions to keep their wealth rolling. The supernaturals are constantly fighting amongst themselves, sometimes even within the same clan and their greed keeps them from having too many hands because of how competitive they are. And the railway business is too good to destroy.
The railways connect them and there’s simply no benefit in destroying what they use too. Not when monsters are around and being separated from other cities can be a nightmare to landlocked cities without access to water.
But it’s not like they haven’t tried. The thing is the moment you destroy a railway track; it gathers unwanted attention and the power in that region would love nothing more than to make you pay for it. It disrupts trade. It makes people who treat money as their deity angry and whether you are human, vampire or a monster. They will come after you and take care of you before you become a bigger problem that needs solving. Isn't it quite funny?
They might want to keep others out, but they don’t want to die in their cities either. Travel by train is simply the most efficient in the current world. You can carry more goods and travel safer without worrying about some undersea monster sinking your boat or a winged abomination clipping the wings of your plane.
And even if they do want to keep us out by cutting access and halting the train’s schedule. The train itself is armed with enough guns and security to ensure its following schedule.
Is what I thought as the train halted its engine. The train operator made a cold announcement of the destroyed track. The train carried spare railways and with the drones working and the security forces guarding the perimeter.
It didn’t take long for air support to arrive. Leaving everyone in grim thought as they think what this all means. Kei is watching the drone footage. Her mind is elsewhere as she thinks of every possibility.
“We’re biting more than we can chew.”
She remarked with such a tone that isn’t usually like her.
“Guess this is bigger than Sato told us.”
“Indeed. He might know, but if they destroyed the railway. Then that means they know what they are trying to fight. Akun, do you know what happens to threats that go beyond the Otherside Bureau and TCU’s control?”
“We drop the sun on them.”
“Exactly. They aren’t going to hesitate to do that if they think the situation is beyond what they can handle. They’ll drop the sun on them and call it done.”
“You think they will?”
Kei nods curtly. She takes a glance at her transmitter and shows me the notification for the destroyed railway. The bounty for this is going to be huge and if anything. This just attracted a lot of bounty hunters to Vultan.
“It’s a shitshow now, my assistant. These bastards are attracting a lot of moths to the flame. It’s bothering me.”
“It is. This isn’t their usual MO and it’s bad news when the supernaturals change how they operate.”
“Means they really do think this will change anything. Which leaves me to question why they are gathering so many of us into one place.”
It sounds like they need bodies. Kei seems to think so too since big rituals usually need a lot of sacrifices. Citizens can contribute their life energy, but operatives of the OB and the TCU have a lot to contribute. You don’t have to be a genius to figure that out and the worst part is we’d still have to go to Vultan despite knowing all of this.
“We don’t know much other than there might be an anomaly that can grant them strength. But why do they need so many people to gather?”
Kei repeats. The higher the people the higher the concentration of life energy is.
“Could be part of their ritual. Blood sacrifice through chaos.”
Kei raises a finger as if doing so could help her make a point.
“Yes. It would make sense if it’s simply just a ritual. But we know they are using an anomaly. An anomaly they are so confident about. As far as we know, there isn’t an anomaly-based ritual the supernaturals know. And believe me I’ve looked for Diabolists and Scribes and they’ve said nothing about any anomaly being part of a mage ritual. Anomalies are rare and they differ based on their environment. It is form from whatever made it appear in the first place.”
Most of the time that’s how it is. I thought back to our previous cases, and the readings I made while we didn’t have to look for any rumors or talk to clients.
“Do you think they cultivated an anomaly of their own?”
Kei became grim at the thought of that.
“Anoms are natural reality warpers. They bend the area around them and change the physiology of a creature. Some extend spaces and some changes to something we cannot fully fathom. If they manage to do that, then do you know what it would mean?”
Power. The ability to cultivate your own anomaly and turn it into what you can use for your own. Which means if you have the right formula, then it would change the world.
“The thought of it is terrifying.”
“We might get another risk event too.”
Kei clicked her tongue. She sunk her back on the seat and kneaded her forehead. She looks at Marvin and Eta who is barely conscious.
“And here I thought we’d just after some info about some bloodsucker’s dream of sustainable food.”
“Maybe it's just that.”
“Let’s hope it is. But whatever they are planning. Vultan is the center of their plans.”
“Question is how do we avoid getting involved, Ma’am.”
“Who knows? Once we step into Vultan we can’t be neutral. We already pick our sides and the supernaturals aren’t the kind who are willing to speak to us naturally. They’re even worse than the Fourth Reich citizens when it comes to speaking about their superiority.”
“Other than the folks in Changye. Who do you think is interested in what will happen in Vultan?”
“Officially there’s no notice about what’s happening here. All they know is something in Vultan needs culling. But those who got the job are going to be attending this shitshow.”
“You mean other countries?”
“Well, of course you can expect the superpowers to try and get a piece of this anomaly. Our Neo Templar friends might preach about their mission to cull evil, but there’s no way they aren’t interested in the anomaly. Assistant, knowledge is everything in this era. And even if they aren’t solely interested in the anomaly like we are. There is a price they can win that is worth making their way to Vultan. What is that price? I don’t know. But it warrants enough for them to send a force in Vultan. Sato sure have fucked us over with this one. And I’m sure Vaun will do his best to make sure we don’t get any ideas about not trying in our task.”
“Is Sato always this demanding?”
“Not really. He did give us tasks before, but I guess we used up all our favors and now he needs something from us.”
“Price seems too high.”
“It’s not. If anything he’s investing a lot. I’m more worried about his sincerity. Vaun being around is enough of a sign to me.”
“That we can’t fuck this up?”
“Yeah. I’m not sure if he actually trusts us or not. I wouldn’t refuse the help since a graded agent’s not a bad thing to have in a place like Vultan. But even Vaun isn’t going to be enough if we have an entire army of supernatural after our asses.”
