72 No Way, Right?

Earlier, back in the secret facility, there was next to no kills at all on the Kamay ng Lagim side due to all of them being highly-trained and elite people, unlike the Blue Agents, Initiates, Official Agents, and low-ranking Special Agents within it.

You see, there was a reason that the Initiate rank was established by Puting Araw. It was obviously to let rookie wielders freshly out of their training to gain experience. After that was the Official Agent rank, allowing those novices to gain even more experience.

Meaning to say, most people within the secret facility were too inexperienced to deal with psychopathic people whose only care in the world is to kill people.

However, even those that were considered moderately powerful and experienced Special Agents stood no chance against the barrages of Abilities from the Kamay ng Lagim soldiers.

To make it all worse, Black Devil, Graybeard, Earthquake, and Blood King all joined the fiasco, killing tens of people every time they made a move.

That was until the Walong Sinag ng Araw and the Board of Directors showed up in front of the Liwayway Hotel Zamboanga branch. Rose was in the forefront as she said, "Branch Director and Juan Tamad-"

Prior to finishing her sentence, Juan Tamad interrupted, "Why do you people always call me Tamad (Tamad means lazy)? Tsk, I'm not 'that' lazy."

"You guys go check on the Camp General Basilio," Rose rolled her eyes, sighing in exasperation. "Banal na Tagalikha, you'd want to come with them?"

"No," Banal na Tagalikha's expression showed depression. "It's all destroyed anyways… There's no use going there…"

"Okay, that's settled." Rose nodded. "Go now. We'll save what we can."

With that, the Zamboanga Branch Director and Juan Tamad disappeared, with Juan Tamad being naturally faster than the director.

Watching the two people leave, Rose and the others returned their focus on the matter at hand.

Going in, the 14 people all began to dominate most of the people in the first room of any Puting Araw secret facility, a huge lobby with kiosks and terminals within.

They only stopped their own rampage when four of the members of Limang Daliri appeared in front of them. Black Devil was in the lead, with the other three having their own poses. Graybeard had his rifle on his shoulder, Earthquake held a hammer that can only be described to be ginormous, and Blood Devil donning a crimson armor and exuding an aura of valiance

"Rose." Black Devil's tone was serene. After all, he was perhaps the exclusive individual that has the slightest chance of defeating Rose in a battle. "We meet again."

He then snapped, conjuring up tens of human-sized portals all around the facility base, the signal for his own troops to retreat away.

"Black Devil." Rose walked slowly to face Black Devil from a distance. "How have you been, slippery jerk?"

"You think I'm going to let you escape just like that?" Seeing the four start to withdraw, the sword she summoned earlier rematerialized in her hands, her eyes transforming into that of a lizard's. "You destroy one of my bases and you think I'd let you walk away?"

"Why?" Black Devil turned back his head, his tone contained a hint of mockery. "Are you going to do something about it?"

"Of course I am." Vanishing from her position, Rose reappeared in front of Black Devil's position, a visible blue aura enveloping her, her eyes glowing blue.

Meanwhile, Black Devil has teleported backwards, easily dodging Rose's attempt at attacking him. Black Devil ridiculed Rose, "You'd think you can hit me, but you can't."

"Fight me." This time, Rose's skin became blue, black devilish tattoos forming on her skin, the blue aura around her disappearing.

The blue glowing eyes she had became even more prominent, black horns protruded out of her forehead, claws retracting out of her hands, a thick black tail extended out of her backside.

As for her sword, it shrunk, compacting into that of the size of a small broadsword. After her transformation, the aura she was exuding was regal, yet also demonic… One thing was for sure though, she was powerful.

By this point in time, Graybeard, Earthquake, and Blood King has escaped, as well as the army invading the facility. Sensing this, Black Devil said, "I don't have time for this. It's not time for us to face each other. Bye bye, Rose."

With that, Black Devil snapped and faded away as Rose dashed to him again, missing him by a single strand of hair as he vanished from thin air.

"Fucking Black Devil!" Rose's voice was deep, and utterly satanic. Returning to her human form, she breathed out heavily. "Fix this place."

Saying that, she walked away from the secret facility.

…..

"White Fox… Fascinating…" Juan Tamad giggled excitedly. "Wait… Is that Daniel? Oh… So he's the one that provided distraction for those bastards…"

"Distraction?" Hayden inquired in monotone and his deep Indestructible Devil's voice. "What happened?"

"Oh, you know… Puting Araw's Zamboanga branch is destroyed, invaded by Kamay ng Lagim…" Juan Tamad casually spoke, his hands behind his head. "Plus, the most important military base in the country was destroyed. Such a hassle…"

"Juan!" The woman beside him tapped his shoulder. "You're revealing too much information!"

"Don't worry, he's no threat!" Juan Tamad was calm and still as happy-go-lucky. "My gut is telling me that he's no threat! And you know full well my gut, it's always right."

"But you have to maintain Puting Araw's secrets to ourselves, you idiot!" The woman couldn't control herself and slam Juan Tamad's head.

Hayden and the CHORUS members were smiling awkwardly underneath their masks. 'What an unexpected turn of events, these two… Are they really leaders of Puting Araw?'

Clearing his throat, Hayden spoke, "Anyhow, it's time for us to leave. We were merely passing by and saw an attention-grabbing commotion. Goodbye."

Turning away, Hayden was about to retract his wings when Juan Tamad called out to him. "Wait… Why don't you join us at Puting Araw?"

"I have no interests in joining any organizations." Hayden directly refused. "Nor do my companions. Goodbye."

Saying that, the trench coat reappeared on Hayden as he unfurled his wings. Concomitantly, Jae-hwa shifted back into her Winged Nightmare form, allowing the CHORUS members to mount her.

The twelve flew away, leaving behind Daniel, Juan Tamad, and the Branch Director of Zamboanga. The two approached Daniel cautiously, with Juan Tamad poking Daniel with a finger.

"He's out cold…" Juan Tamad tilted his head, continuing to poke Daniel, this time, on the forehead. A few seconds later, he finally ceased his poking whilst the Branch Director walked beside him. Looking around, Juan Tamad muttered, "He did this all by himself? Indeed… Rose was right, this guy is talented… He has more potential than us…"

At that moment, Daniel started to wake up, a groan escaped his mouth. The first thing he saw was Juan Tamad's nostrils, startling him.

"What the-" Everything that Daniel has done came back to him, his eyes tearing up. "All those innocent people… I killed all those innocent people…"

"Oh, Daniel, oh dear Daniel…" Juan Tamad patted Daniel's back, sympathizing with him. Taking Daniel's arm and wrapping it around his shoulder to assist him in standing up, Juan Tamad comforted him, "Don't worry about all the lives on your shoulders… It's not your fault…"

"But I've killed so much!" Daniel sobbed, remembering everything he's done for the past few days. "If those that I've killed were at least-"

"Shush now." Juan Tamad silenced him with his finger. "You don't have to take responsibility for anything."

All the while saying this, Juan Tamad signaled to the Branch Director with his finger. Seeing this, the Branch Director put her hands on Daniel's face, which Daniel didn't notice as he was preoccupied sifting through his memories in his state of being mind-controlled.

In that instance, the Zamboanga Branch Director Daniel blacked out.

…..

In the sky, Hayden and the CHORUS members were flying, with Hayden flying independently. Leveling her head with Hayden's flight level, Jae-hwa spoke, "Hop on."

Hearing Jae-hwa's sentence, Hayden flew upwards and landed on Jae-hwa's back, turning off his Indestructible Devil and removing his mask.

He perceived Eun-ha was staring at him. Removing her mask, Eun-ha expressed her apologies, "Sorry for following you…"

Hayden walked in front of her, embraced her, and kissed her. "Hey, I don't blame you, okay? You had good intentions. I'm not some close-minded idiot that will get angry at his girlfriend for being concerned for him, am I?"

Eun-ha's face reddened. Subsequently, Eun-ha hugged Hayden and buried her face in his chest. "I love you."

Patting the back of her head, Hayden kissed the top of her head and uttered, "I love you, too, okay?"

A few seconds of silence ensued, the two's embrace on each other tightening. Hayden whispered, "Thanks for tailing me… I don't fathom what could've happened if you didn't… I needed it."

"Yeah, you've been alone for far too long, honey," Eun-ha beamed at him pinching his cheeks. "Don't forget that I stand alongside you now…"

"Awesome." Hayden displayed a rare adorable wide grin, melting Eun-ha's heart.

Looking ahead, Hayden watched as the nine others removed their masks. Sayuri giggled prior to opening her mouth, "You two lovebirds are getting icky…"

Eun-ha ignored the CHORUS members' scrutinizing gazes and locked onto Hayden's eyes, "I've got your back, okay?"

"Yeah, yeah," Sayuri rushed at them. Stopping besides the two, she pointed at Hayden, "You owe us for helping you, Hayden-ah. Now, cook for us again."

Blinking rapidly, Hayden didn't know what to say at all. In the interim, Eun-ha's countenance darkened as she grumbled, "Just… Cook for them again…"

Chuckling, Hayden replied, "Okay…"

On that note, Hayden and Eun-ha walked to the head of Jae-hwa and sat there, surrounded by the women. Hayden must admit that this was a pleasant experience. Being encircled by such gorgeous women.

His eyes wandered to Sayuri, who smiled at him sweetly. His eyes then darted to the others, who also smiled at him. It was odd that the air wafted out with… The smell of attraction.

Even Chung-hee, the one who seemed to hate him, was emitting this. Only Madoka and Jin-ae, who were in a relationship, weren't. Well, not necessarily, there were indeed faint scents of attraction oozing from them, albeit faint and weaker than the rest.

'Holy crap…' Hayden was taken aback of this. 'What the hell is happening? No way they're attracted to me, right?'

Shaking his head discreetly, Hayden outright denied it, merely thinking that some of them are… Attracted to each other perhaps? No way such beautiful women will be interested in him. It's too farfetched.

Well, dear readers, we all can recognize that all of them are indeed attracted, right? As for how this came to fruition? Well, earlier...

"So, why are we going after him this time around?" Chung-hee was the one who moved towards Eun-ha this time.

"He's saving his friend." Eun-ha answered without thought. "He views saving his best friend as exclusively his own matter and that it was selfish to ask for help."

"Really?" Chung-hee exclaimed, not believing that Hayden thought saving someone was a selfish act. "No way he's that dull, right?"

"Yep…" Eun-ha shook her head. "Unfortunately he is that dull when it comes to matters akin to this… Typical independent lone wolf."

If Hayden was there, he'd have to agree with Eun-ha's words. Although it's not exactly accurate as Hayden did not view this as a 'selfish act; and instead 'his own business,' it was, nonetheless, essentially the same.

He'd also be surprised that Eun-ha knew him that well despite him not talking about his own world views all that much.

"Seriously, that's what he thinks?" Jae-hwa's bird-like voice rang out. As they were sitting atop Jae-hwa's head, she unsurprisingly heard the two's conversation. "What an oaf."

"Hey," Eun-ha slapped the top of Jae-hwa's head. "That's my boyfriend we're talking about. I'm the only one allowed to insult him."

Jae-hwa chuckled along with Chung-hee, much to the trepidation of Eun-ha. Meanwhile, those that were eavesdropping were rather stupefied of this.

…..

Arriving above the Rain Sanctuary Hotel, all of them dropped down to avoid getting attention from below.

Eun-ha projected her flame wings and dropped down Aiko and Mi-sun, Mieko unfolded her icy wings and dropped down Madoka and Hsiao-Han, Shu-Ching created wings out of water vapor and dropped down Chung-hee and Jin-ae, whilst Hayden got stuck with Sayuri, who appeared to deliberately leave herself for last by rejecting Eun-ha's first offer.

While flying down, Hayden bridal carried Sayuri. All the while, Hayden was flustered of Sayuri's incessant scrutiny. Especially when he heard Sayuri's words, "You know? You're pretty handsome for a 16-year-old…"

In response to that, Hayden gulped and controlled his emotions using Divine Perception. "Thank you for the compliment."

"Heh, you're really flustered." Sayuri tittered, teasing Hayden. "I'm a wolf, I can literally smell your emotions. You're pretty good at hiding your emotional state, huh?"

"And you're too talkative." Hayden wryly smiled and snorted. "You don't mind me asking… You're a wolf? What's your Ability exactly?"

"Lunar Alpha," Sayuri answered casually. "It allows me to transform into somewhat of a wolf… To be precise, a Lunar Wolf… Some sort of ancient race of wolves…"

Finally reaching the rooftop, Hayden released Sayuri gently, who kissed him on the cheek as thanks. "Thank you handsome."

Hayden literally didn't know how to respond, being put in a daze due to Sayuri's actions. It was all so… Bizarre. A running thought came into his mind, 'How will their fans respond when… I… Date both of them…'

Slapping himself in his head to make himself to forget this, Hayden reminded himself that he should become stronger first as Eun-ha was already too strong for him. Dating two Level 4 wielders at once? Never in a million years Hayden would do that.

Checking in on Eun-ha, Hayden bade her a goodbye in the meantime, "I'd have to be at the secret facility to evade suspicions from people… Thanks again for making sure that I'm safe."

"Anytime, honey." Eun-ha pulled Hayden's head for a kiss. Thereupon, Hayden parted ways with her temporarily to go to Puting Araw.

…..

It was 7:45 when Hayden reached Puting Araw's main branch. Waiting for him in the Missions Board area were three people, Scarlet, Zeke, and another woman, which was Sophia.

"Where've you been?" Zeke impulsively reprimanded Hayden, freezing in his tracks as he realized what he did. Coughing, he continued, "I'm sorry… I mean, why are you late?"

"I was held up by some… Personal matters." Hayden was nonchalant, not at all obliged to explain what he did the past hour. "Where's Daniel? And who is she?"

"There's no news of him…" Scarlet anxiously responded, clearly attempting to be as calm as possible, not wanting to agitate Hayden. "As for her, this is Sophia, my Blue Agent partner."

"Hello, Hayden," Sophia's face that rarely expressed emotions in front of anybody actually formed a faint smile. This caught Scarlet off-guard. "I am Sophia Pusong-Banayad (1), Scarlet's partner. Nice to meet you. I've heard so much about you."

As for Hayden, his countenance didn't change in the slightest. Well, that's not true as Hayden's eyebrows rose, infinitesimally, and was therefore not perceived by anybody. He had the sense that Sophia knew something about him more than Zeke and Scarlet.

This feeling piqued Hayden's curiosity. Regardless, Hayden's face didn't move another inch. "Nice to meet you as well, Sophia Pusong-Banayad. So you're Scarlet's Blue Agent partner? I've likewise heard so much about you."

"Like what?" Sophia inquired thoughtfully. The conversation between the two shocked Zeke and Scarlet. The two were interacting so… Normally… Which consequently made it strange for them.

That was until the two recalled Hayden's attitude when it came to their Abilities. Meaning to say, when something, or someone, stimulates Hayden's interest, his attitude would reverse… It was an unexpected characteristic of Hayden.

"Scarlet here says that nobody can ever stand up to you in terms of Blue Agent capabilities." Hayden relayed Scarlet's reasoning of why she hired Hayden.

"Oh, Scarlet," Sophia tapped Scarlet on the shoulder. Sending back her focus to Hayden, she articulated, "As for you, people say that you're quite a powerful person for a Blue Agent-oriented White Agent. Beating ten prodigies at once?"

"Nah, those were ten babies." Hayden's face at this point reverted to its usual nonchalance. He remained curious of Sophia though.

Why? Well, every time Hayden hears her voice, Hayden's body feels light and calm, with his internal organs exceeding its already superior efficiency. On top of that, his emotional state was neutralized.

It was inexplicable, but Hayden was certain that this was an effect of somebody's Ability. And who else would it be if not for Sophia? 'This is probably the reason why Scarlet is all high-praise for his own partner…'

Plus, Hayden perceived a small locket on Sophia's chest. With his oh-so-powerful sense of touch, Hayden sensed that that locket had small mechanical contraptions, similar to the Whisperer ring.

Notwithstanding this, Hayden didn't verbalize his own suspicion, choosing to divert the topic back to Daniel. "At any rate, Zeke, how did you get Daniel's location?"

"Somebody…" Recapitulating his encounter with the man who brought the report of Daniel to him, Hayden narrowed his eyes. "The man said that he was from… WISERA? I've tried checking up on this WISERA, but it was nonexistent. Yet… The Walong Sinag ng Araw and the Board of Directors took the man's words seriously…"

"WISERA, huh?" Hayden unconsciously muttered. Unknowingly, he turned to Sophia, who had hints of surprise by the way her eyes dilated and the scent she radiated. 'They created a department to cooperate with the wielders of Puting Araw, huh? WISERA…'

There were no such words that is spelled as 'wisera,' hence, that leaves a single possibility, and that is WISERA being an abbreviation.

'I wonder what it means…' Hayden didn't talk upon hearing this. He didn't want to express his opinion on this matter at all. That didn't stop him front thinking what he wants. 'And is it really a department to 'cooperate' with wielders, or regulate us?'

With that in mind, Hayden walked off, deep in thought. The trio watched Hayden's departing back, with Zeke shouting, "Where are you going?"

"Cafeteria." Hayden didn't even look back. "There's no use standing around being all anxious for Daniel's sake. Crimson Enchantress is simply a Level 3 wielder, and with the Walong Sinag ng Araw's power, there's no uncertainty that Daniel will be rescued."

Stating his rationalization, Hayden went back to paying no attention to the existence of the trio, including Sophia. This caused the three to stare towards each other prior to tacitly following Hayden.

For some reason, they were compelled to chase Hayden… More so for Sophia, who was part of Pangkat Anino. Hayden, Scarlet, and Zeke had no idea that the locket on Sophia's neck was a piece of Essence Technology, a derivative of the Whisperer.

'What do you want me to do with this Hayden?' Secretly holding the locket, Sophia sent out a telepathic message to a person.

To which the person replied with, 'Monitor him. The boss wants to recruit him.'

On the receiving end of this message was The Stalker, outside of Liwayway Hotel, standing idly, engulfed with darkness while fiddling on his phone. A locket the same as Sophia's twinkled on his neck.

…..

RWL, Category – Constitutional Laws: In 2048, the World Government created an Absolute Equal Rights Act that states that no person shall be unfairly deprived of life, their rights, and be discriminated upon solely due to their past, criminal or not. Anyone who will break this law will be sentenced for 20 years in prison as long as the defendant's offense is proven. As for human rights, it refers to five things, their right for freedom (Freedom Rights Law), their right to be treated equally in front of the law and people (Law of Equality), the right to privacy (Privacy Laws), rights to be supported by the government (Government Support Laws), and the rights to act upon their rights and to not be deprived of their rights (Human Rights Law). The largest laws that encompasses most of the human rights is the Freedom Rights Law, followed by the Law of Equality that encompasses total impartiality.