"So, is this what you wanted to show me?" Xavier's eyes squinted slightly.
His sharp eyes glossed over three individuals as he looked at them from top to bottom. Halting his steps, he raised his brow and pointed towards one specific individual. One whose face was riddled with scars.
"…he is?"
"That's 876"
Joseph replied.
"…876?"
Frowning slightly, Xavier licked his teeth underneath his lips.
"Just where have I heard of h—Ah!"
Smacking the palm of his hand with his fist, Xavier finally remembered.
"He's the one that came into our headquarters on fire?" Looking at Joseph, he asked. "That's him? What happened to his face? I thought that the extent of his injuries only amounted to burns, where did the scars come from?"
"That…I'm not too sure myself. I've never asked." Joseph replied with a bit of embarrassment.
He was too busy developing his serum and testing it on the other subjects that he didn't even bother questioning 876 about his past. In all honesty, he didn't particularly care about his past. He only cared about his research.
"I see…so how is he?"
Puffing up his chest, Joseph pridefully said.
"Well, as a matter of fact, he is my most successful subject."
There were also two other successful subjects 091 and 654, but compared to 876, they were still lacking. Even then, Joseph introduced them to Xavier.
"These here are 091, and 654. Although they may be a little lacking compared to 876, they are still very capable."
Alternating his eyes between 091 and 654, Xavier's eyes finally landed on 876. His eyes flashed with interest.
"Oh? So you're saying that out of the thousands of subjects you had, he's the most successful subject?"
"Indeed."
"Okay." Xavier nodded his head.
—Shap!
Dropping his jacket on the ground and unbuttoning the buttons of his sleeves, he calmly walked towards the middle of the training ground. Stretching his neck, he looked at Joseph and said.
"Alright, show me."
"Huh?"
"…what, did you not hear me? I said show me."
"S-show you what?"
Joseph was starting to get flustered. Turning his head and looking in the direction of where Xavier was looking at, he became even more flustered.
"W-wait, are you trying to fight him?"
876 was his treasure. His most successfully subject. There was no way in hell, he would ever let him go near Xavier.
Ignoring Joseph, Xavier continued. "Don't worry, I'll suppress my strength to his level…D rank was it? I'll fight him at that level"
"Bu—"
"It's not a request. It's an order."
Cutting Joseph off, a cold glint flashed Xavier's eyes. A chill ran down Joseph's spine.
"Joseph, I'm here on behalf of the higher-ups. All you did was show me three individuals. That is not nearly enough to convince me that you're worth investing in. I'm not here to play games? I'm here to see what you've actually done. If I'm not satisfied by the end of this, you can say goodbye to your project. Think carefully."
"Ah…"
A defeated sound escaped from Joseph's lips.
Despite his status, he was but a mere researcher. He couldn't really go against the higher-up's order. Especially since he couldn't fight back either. His only option was to give in.
Weakly staring at Xavier, he nodded his head.
"Understood. But please don't kill him."
Pleased, Xavier laughed out loud and reassured. "Hahahah…who do you think I am? There's no need to worry, I'll hold back a lot."
"That would be great."
A forced smile appeared on Joseph's lips.
'It's precisely because I know who you are that I'm saying this.' he cursed inside of his mind.
Xavier was notorious for his sadistic mindset. If his switch was flipped, only God himself would be able to stop him from going on a sadistic rampage.
Thus.
"No weapons."
Joseph said after mustering all of his courage.
As long as Xavier did not use a weapon, 876 may have a chance at surviving.
"…what?"
Stopping himself mid-stretch, Xavier looked at Joseph.
"What did you just say?"
Clenching his fists, Joseph repeated.
"I said no weapons allowed in this spar."
"..."
After a brief moment of silence, staring at Joseph, an amused smile appeared on Xavier's lips.
"Ah…I see, so you're afraid I won't keep my promise."
Xavier was not mad by Joseph's statement. In fact, he found it quite amusing. Raising his hand, he nodded his head.
"Alright, I promise....In fact, I'll do you one better. if he can land a single hit on me, I'll grant you your funds. How about it?"
Surprised by the fact that Xavier had agreed to his request, Joseph was elated.
"You're being serious?"
"I am."
"Alright…" Nodding his head, Joseph looked at 876 and ordered. "Go and fight him."
"Understood."
876 responded in a monotonous tone. Almost robotic. Under everyone's eyes, he moved towards the center of the training ground.
Standing five meters apart from Xavier, 876 indifferently looked at Xavier.
A tremendous pressure oozed out of Xavier who stood opposite to him. Yet, despite being under such pressure, 876 remained completely unfazed.
"HoHo, this looks interesting."
Joseph laughed out loud. Staring at the youth opposite to him was remaining unfazed by his pressure, his interest piqued.
Turning his head, he looked at Joseph.
"Joseph, you may initiate the spar."
"Understood."
Nodding his head, Joseph nervously looked at 876.
'Please don't die.'
If he died, all of his plans would go down the drain. Although 091 and 654 were both capable, they needed a lot more time to develop unlike 876 who was by far the closest to achieving the state that he wanted.
Alas.
Under Xavier's threatening pressure, Joseph could only raise his hand in the air.
"Ready, get set…go!"
—Bam!
The moment Joseph's hand fell, 876 moved. Xavier remained rooted on the same spot. With a slight smile on his face, his eyes followed 876's movements.
"…let me see what you can do."
The moment his words fell, 876 arrived before him. Planting his right foot on the ground, he twisted his torso slightly and kicked upwards. Aiming for Xavier's head.
"Oh? Not bad."
Moving his head slightly, a kick flew past him. The force of the kick was so strong that Joseph, who was standing quite far from them, could hear the booming sound of the air splitting.
However, despite the prowess of the kick, Xavier was still able to dodge it easily.
—Swoosh! —Swoosh!
Unfazed by the fact that his first attack had failed, 876 continued to attack. Elbows, knees, palms, fingers, every single part of the body, 876 used. For the past few months, he had been trained every day to fight hand-to-hand combat. He had not been given a weapon yet because of his injuries.
It could be said that because of that, he was now quite adept in hand-to-hand combat.
Unfortunately.
—Swoosh!
"Huaam…boring."
Avoiding another fist, Xavier yawned. He was dealing with someone that was much stronger than him. Even if his rank was suppressed, his fighting experience was leagues above his.
Turning his head, he looked at Joseph who was standing not far from where he was.
"Is this really what you've been working for the past few months? Honestly, I'm pretty disappointed."
Although he was impressed by the fact that 876 was unfazed by his pressure, that was it. Any regular guard could've performed as well as 876. There was nothing really special about him. At least nothing worth investing that much money in.
'Alright, let's get this over with.'
After a while, Xavier grew tired. The faster this ended, the more time he had for himself.
Raising his hand, Xavier threw a simple punch. Though it was simple, in actuality it was anything but simple. If one looked closely, a thin layer of mana was covering the fist. If the fist landed, without a doubt 876 would get seriously hurt.
—Swoosh!
The moment Xavier punched, a cold glint flashed 876's eyes. Turning his body ever-so-slightly, he tensed his abdominal muscles similarly punched out. A whistling sound arose and the air split apart.
"Hu—!"
—Pa!
Kracka—!
Before Xavier could make out what had happened, 876's fist connected with his face. The sound of 876's fist connecting with Xavier's face resounded across the room, alongside it was the sound of bones breaking. Following this, heavy silence descended the room.
"Ha...not bad. Not bad" Massaging his cheek slightly, Xavier's face twisted savagely. "...Not bad at all"
Staring at 876, Xavier's eyes paused towards his right hand.
"No wonder…"
With his right hand loosely hanging, 876 was no longer in a state where he could fight. His left hand at the moment was completely shattered. Even then, the goal of the fight was to hit him, therefore, he had technically won.
'So he purposely injured himself for the sake of hitting me...this indeed seems a little intriguing.'
A soldier that had no regard for their life. Xavier had originally thought that such a thing wasn't possible, but staring at 876 before him, he had to admit, he was wrong.
still.
—Bam!
Appearing before 876, Xavier's fist dug into his stomach. A small shockwave swept the surroundings.
"ohu.."
The moment Xavier's fist hit landed, a small groan escaped from 876's mouth. Though his face didn't change, because of how strong the punch was, the air was knocked out of him as he fell on his knees.
—thud!
"H-hey what are you doing"
By the side, Joseph flusteredly shouted.
"Shut up"
Snapping his head in Joseph's direction, a tremendous pressure bore down on him paralyzing him completely.
"There was another reason for me coming here" Joseph's deeply looked at 876. "And that reason is him. Subject 876...It's about time we found out who he truly is."
Kracka—!
Putting his hand on 876's shoulder, the sound of bones breaking echoed across the training ground.
"..."
To Xavier's surprise, as he broke 876's shoulder bones, he made no sound. He acted as though nothing had happened.
"This..." Xavier murmured. "The more I see it for myself, the more I'm amazed."
Kracka—!
Putting his hand on his other shoulder, he broke the other one. Yet again, 876 showed no reaction. Turning around, he looked at Joseph.
"Say...has he been brainwashed yet?"
"Y-yes."
"I see."
From what Xavier heard, Joseph's research consisted in erasing someone's emotions.
If so, with him no longer having any emotions, answering questions would no longer be a problem since they shouldn't really care about anything else. Why keep a secret when you no longer feel the need to keep it?
Turning his attention back to 876, Xavier asked.
"What's your name?"
After a short moment of silence, 876 replied. "...My name is 876."
"Ah," Xavier smacked his head lightly. "Sorry, let me rephrase. What was your previous name?"
"..."
This time, 876 did not respond. Xavier's brows knit as a result.
"Hm? Cat got your tongue? I'll ask again, who were you before coming here?"
"..."
Once again, 876 did not respond. Turning around, Xavier looked at Joseph.
"Are you sure this works?"
No longer under Xavier's pressure, Joseph nodded his head.
"Yes. It should work"
"Then why isn't he speaking?"
"Hmm" Placing his hand on his chin, Joseph thought for a moment before responding "There's a possibility that he might've lost a part of his memories."
"Lost a part of his memories?"
"Yes." Joseph once again nodded, as he explained. "Don't you remember the state that he was in when you brought him to me? There's a high chance that he may have lost a part of his memories due to the trauma he experienced prior to coming here. "
"Ah." Xavier made a small sound. "Right. That does sound plausible."
Recalling the state 876 was in when he first saw him, Xavier had a look of understanding. Turning his attention back to 876, Xavier asked multiple different questions.
"Do you remember anything about who you were before? Your parent's name? Your job? Your age...or where you got this ring from?"
From the first exchange, Xavier did not have much hope. He was only asking as a formality. He didn't really particularly care about 876's previous identity, but what he wanted to know was where he had gotten the ring from.
There weren't many rings in circulation, and each ring was extremely precious as it would directly teleport someone into the headquarters of the Monolith. He needed to know how he had gotten the ring.
This wasn't something to merely laugh about.
If 876 did not say anything useful, he'd have someone extract whatever memory he had. He didn't really care about the fact that it might result in Joseph's research slowing down. If he gave him enough money, it would more than make up for the loss.
"..."
And just like he had originally assumed, 876 did not respond. He just blankly stared back at him.
Lowering his head, Xavier sighed.
"Alright, I guess there's no point in continuing this conversation. I'll get someone to extract his memories and see for m—"
"...T-thibaut."
"Hm?"
Just as Xavier was about to leave, 876 spoke.
"The ring...the man who I got the ring from is called Thibaut"
"Did you just say...Thibaut?"
"...yes."
"Do you remember anything else regarding the ring?"
Xavier carefully asked.
"...Negative."
"I see."
Xavier's pinched the middle of his brows as the gears of his mind turned.
'Thibaut...Thibaut...where have I heard of that name?'
The name sounded familiar. He had heard of it before. It was just at the tip of his tongue, but he couldn't quite place his finger on it.
"Just wher—Ah! I remember now!" Punching the palm of his hand, Xavier was finally able to recall where had heard of that name before.
Alfonse Thibaut. The agent that the Monolith had spent countless resources in nurturing who regrettably ended up being a total flop. Had it not been for his failure half a year ago, the Monolith wouldn't have been in their current situation.
Finally, after more than half a year of searching, he had finally heard news about him.
Turning his attention back to 876, Xavier's tone became grave.
"Thibaut...is he dead?"
"Affirmative."
"Do you know who killed him?"
"Affirmative."
The moment he heard this confirmation, Xavier couldn't hide his anticipation. Because of how much Thibaut's failure had cost the Monolith, if he managed to find something about him, he may be able to get quite a reward from the higher-ups.
Furthermore, each time 876 answered, he answered monotonously. With no changes in tone or facial expression. This alone made Xavier think that he was not lying.
"Who was it? Who killed Thibaut?"
After a brief moment of silence, 876 answered.
"...It was me."
Xavier's brows jumped up at his response.
"You? Elaborate"
"Affirmative." 876 paused for a moment. "...According to my memories, said person attacked me. In self-defense, I killed him and stole all of his items...in the process of taking his item, his watch blew up and I got injured as a result."
The moment Xavier heard about Thibaut's watch blowing up, he knew that this was most likely not a lie. Upon the host's death, the Monolith watch would automatically destroy itself.
This was a preemptive measure that the Monolith used to stop the Union from getting access to their database. Not many people knew this fact giving more credibility to the story.
However, just because he said that there were still many things that didn't add up.
Like.
"If you've killed him, how did you figure out how the ring works?"
"From a small diary inside of his storage space."
"Diary?"
"Affirmative. Inside of it was a long list of names."
"Ah, I see..."
Xavier nodded his head as he fell into deep thought. Within moments he started to get the gist of the situation.
'After his failure in completing his designated mission, knowing that we would not let it go, he must've decided to run away. With us in his pursuit, in order to lay low, there's a high chance that he resorted to robbing people in the street to make ends meet...from there he must've attacked 876 but ended up failing.'
In Xavier's mind, everything was starting to check out. After killing Thibaut, whoever 876 was before, he must've looked through his storage device and took everything.
This was not something shocking as it was pretty much something everyone did once they killed someone.
'Also, the diary he was referring to must've been a list of possible recruits from the Lock...'
Every agent had one. It was so that they could keep track of the people that they wanted to exploit and entice them to join the union.
The more Xavier thought about it, the more everything started to make more sense. Closing his eyes slightly, Xavier looked at Joseph.
"All right I pretty much get the gist of the situation...Joseph. Take good care of 876. Once the higher-ups come back, I'll relay everything that he had told me to them and from there I'll let you know what we'll do with him"
As he pretty much understood everything, he decided to tell the higher-ups first before deciding on whether to extract his memory or not. At least for now, he didn't think there was a need to.
Sighing in relief, Joseph asked.
"Then what about my funds?"
"Oh? those?" Pausing, Xavier looked at 876 before smiling. "I'll put in a good word."
He was satisfied with what he had seen.
No, it would be better to say that he was extremely satisfied with 876's performance. A supersoldier that disregarded anything for victory. Now, this was something the Monolith didn't mind having.
Though he got punched in the face in order to confirm this, Xavier's anger had already ceased. Especially after hearing news about Thiabut.
Picking up his jacket from the ground, Xavier made his way towards the exit of the training grounds.
"Alright, I'll see you around Joseph...and 876."
Without looking back, he opened the door and left.
Clank—!
