Vadeem, Noel, and the twins didn’t stay to chat for long after the others left. As much as my friends wanted to hide it, it was impossible to miss the fatigue that they experienced, and the five of us agreed that it was best if we all took the time to clean up in our respective rooms. I took a long, long shower, washing away the accumulated grime, soot, and dirt that still clung to me.

  I must have been more tired than I first thought because I fell asleep in the bathtub. After all, the Regressor had to call me to check if I was alright. I had to scramble to get out, and once again I was the last person to show up for the meeting. After putting on a fresh set of clothing I rushed it over to the office.

  “-and I was like, POW! BLAM!” I heard Noel’s voice say as I approached the room, “Yeah, just like that, Ana! I took out another horde of baddies but not before the main bad guy used his trump card! He was all like, 'Ha! You've activated my trap card!' and I was like- Huh? Never mind what a trap card is, anyway, I then said 'I knew that already! I was a bazillion steps ahead! The awesome Lady Awesome is never caught off guard!' and I went KAPLOW! and BOOM! You should have seen me!”

  I opened the door and was greeted to see Noel posing in some strange ways while the twins looked on with interest. Vadeem had his face covered as he grumbled something incomprehensible under his breath.

  “Thank god you’re here,” the big man muttered, “Any longer and I’d be the one committing honorary Sudo- blah.” He spat. “Seppuku, I mean. God her stupidity is infectious.”

  “But not before I was able to go all spooky ghost form! Oooo~” Noel continued with her act, not even acknowledging my presence, “And that’s when I turned the tables on him! And he was like, ‘How could you see through my ultimate move, oh super awesome Noel?’ and I was like-”

  Jae-Hyun rose from his seat and waved for Noel to calm down. “Let’s save the rest of your… explanation for another day. The host should begin talking any second now.”

  Muscle E: Tell us later!

  Muscle A: Yeah, finish it after!

  “You’re going to rot their brains,” Vadeem muttered before going to collect the twins.

  Noel ignored the man and gave the two a thumbs up before another glare from the Regressor made her sit back in her seat. A short moment later the projector in the room turned on again and a new host appeared on screen. Strangely, it was a woman this time, someone completely new again.

  “Huh,” Noel remarked, “You think they’re running out of interns for that gig? That’s the fourth new one we’ve had.”

  “The hosts for each city should remain constant,” Jae-Hyun muttered, “There’s something we’re not seeing behind the scenes. I’ll look into it when I have the chance.”

  “No kidding,” Vadeem added, “I mean, what did you expect after all the shit we’ve gone through? I don’t think we’ve had a normal Trial since the very first one.”

  “And this one,” Yoona added, “Um, but Vadeem’s right. The people in charge might not know about your unique nature, brother, but they must know that something is off here. I bet the higher-ups are not happy about the mess we’ve been making.”

  “So they’re sacking their expendable underlings,” Vadeem said, “These interdimensional beings sure act the same way as the cooperate assholes back on Earth.”

  “Greed’s universal,” Jae-Hyun replied, “But enough talk, the new Host’s about to announce the results.”

  I turned my attention back to the screen.

  “...is the time to announce the results of the Fourth Trial, and let me be the first to congratulate this cohort for their phenomenal performance! We…”

  I noticed the slight pause and uncertainty in her expression then, it was covered up quickly, but that hesitation was impossible for the people here to miss. Yup, the people behind the scenes were just as clueless about how we managed to not only survive but excel there. The Overseer will not be too pleased, and I’ll bet anything that he’ll think that someone had sabotaged this stage for our benefit.

  After all, who would believe that it was sheer luck that allowed each member of the Regressor’s party to be paired up with groups of fifty? The slimeball will be paranoid about betrayal for a long time, but he sure as hell won’t be able to find who was at fault. Better yet, he can’t even blame Q for it since he’s not even here. Oh, what I wouldn’t give to see his face right about now.

  “We are placed at the very top of the rankings!” The fake Angel continued with a forced smile. “Thanks to the work of five very talented individuals, Pandora is ranked number one among all the Aspirant settlements of Earth! Once again I cannot express my joy at this impressive feat, and a special reward will be given to them personally at a later time.”

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  “I’m guessing they’ll be contacting us?” I asked.

  The Regressor nodded. “They will, and I’m willing to bet that they’ll also ask us how we managed to accomplish something so extraordinary. Expect for some questioning.”

  “So we’ll be taken to the gulag?” Noel exclaimed, “I don’t want to be interrogated! I’m too beautiful!”

  Jae-Hyun kneaded his forehead with his fingers and sighed. I guess even his normally superb tolerance for the redhead’s antics was wearing thin. “No, Noel. They’ll just ask us some simple questions as a precaution if they even bother with that. If anything, it’s the people working behind the scenes who need to worry. Just tell the truth, we have nothing to hide here.”

  “Oh.”

  “Anyway,” the Regressor continued and turned off the projector. “Now that we know our rankings, we have no other reason to listen to the host.”

  “But won’t we miss anything important?” his sister inquired, “She sounded like she had a lot more to say.”

  Jae-Hyun shook his head. “No, there’s nothing else that’s worth hearing. Everything added will either be a lie or a half-truth, it’s not worth our time.”

  I nodded. “So what should we be doing?”

  “For now, we have some free time before the next Trial. We’ve officially begun the next phase of the Ascension process, so we’ll have more free time than normal. We’ll be busy soon, but let’s take it easy first.”

  “It’s beach time!” Noel all but yelled.

  Jae-Hyun gave her a warm smile. “It is. I’ll sort out the population problem with Pandora on my side and we’ll go after.”

  “Do you have a plan for that?” I asked.

  The Regressor nodded and showed off an uncharacteristically cruel grin. “We have a lot of leeway to negotiate by placing first in the Trials, and I have some inside knowledge about what the bastards can and can’t give. I plan to milk them dry.”

  “Oo,” Noel whistled, “The Boss is getting serious! Do you want us with you?”

  “Yes, it’s best if everyone’s there.” He smiled before pausing to look at the door. “Speaking of which, I believe their envoy’s here.”

  “That was fast,” I remarked, “You’d think they’d give us some time to relax and sort things out first.”

  “And let us strategize what we want?” Vadeem added with a chuckle, “As if they’d be nice enough to do that!”

  I hadn’t noticed anyone’s presence, but true to the Regressor’s words, there was a knock on the door a few moments later. It seemed like the man’s senses had become sharper, or maybe he just acquired a new ability. I desperately needed to reassess the strengths of the guild when I had the time.

  Jae-Hyun got up from his seat and gestured for the rest of us to be ready to receive the guest. Not sure what to expect, I sat up straighter and locked my gaze toward the door. The Regressor opened the door and a pair of unfamiliar faces entered the room, not even bothering to address Jae-Hyun. Yeah, I’ve seen those smug expressions before, these were goons firmly in the Overseer’s party and it seemed that the people sent to give our rewards didn’t have our best interests in mind.

  The lead woman, a young individual dressed in a professional suit with long black hair, all but shoved Jae-Hyun aside and sat in his spot while her similarly dressed assistant shoved Marcus to the side to sit beside her.

  Noel frowned when she saw that. “Hey! That’s-”

  Jae-Hyun put up a hand. “Not now, Noel.”

  The woman finally graced the Regressor with a look and shook her head. “Glad to see someone with sense. If you hadn’t shut that petulant child up, I would have.”

  I winced as I saw Noel fume, but Vadeem restrained her before whispering someone in her ear. That got her to calm down, at least for now. Yeah, these shit-stirrers were trying to start something for sure. Given the bureaucratic way that Central operated, my best bet was that they wanted Noel or someone else here to lash out so that they would have some justification to retaliate. I doubt they’d kill us outright, but who knew how desperate the Overseer was getting.

  Jae-Hyun took one of the free seats and faced the representatives. “You are the representatives sent here for our reward, I take it?”

  “Would I be wasting my time dealing with semi-conscious baboons if that wasn’t the case?” She replied sarcastically. “Ah, I apologize, I forget how stunted the intelligence of your race is. I suppose I must specify everything when dealing with you. Yes, I am here for the ‘reward’ as you call it.” She shook her head and sighed. “What would you people do without clear goals?”

  “I think they would just die, ma’am,” her subordinate answered, looking just as unamused as she did.

  “True,” she tutted, “But this is the race we are stuck with. Now let’s not waste any more time here, I doubt these failures can remember why we’re even here if we wait any longer.” She paused and gave Noel a bright smile. “You there, the ugly woman with the small brain. Are you the leader of this pathetic establishment?”

  Oh, she was deliberately provoking us now, and unfortunately, she saw that Noel was the weakest link here.

  Walter’s Fine: Don’t fall for it, Noel!

  “I apologize, my Host,” Noe said before I could hear a response, “But the Chat function is temporarily unavailable.”

  Of course, it is… Can’t you override it?

  “On your end, yes, but the rest of the Abyss Guild will not receive your message even if you can send it out.”

  Right, the problems with two-way communication. From the increasing concern on Jae-Hyun’s face, it appears that he tried something similar and had noticed the same problem.

  I was about to speak up when the assistant waved a hand. “We are addressing the inept woman, not you. It would be a breach of etiquette if you speak up now, but please, feel free to test our patience.”

  "Let it go,” Jae-Hyun whispered, but I could see from his eyes and his posture that he was prepared for the worst. The others were just as tense.

  I forced myself to sit back down, but I strained my focus on the two intruders. I knew firsthand just how volatile Noel could be, and it wasn’t a safe bet to think that she’d let these blatant insults stand. I could only hope that she matured enough to know when to pick her fights.

  “That one at least has a few functioning brain cells,” the man continued with a smirk, “Anyway, please answer the lady’s question, ugly one, unless, of course, you can’t even understand us.”

  And that’s when I knew that Noel hadn’t matured. Instead of retaliating with her usual remarks, her expression turned deadly. Without any warning, a pair of shimmering blades emerged from her hands, and faster than I’ve ever seen any other Aspirant move, she lunged at the nearest individual - the assistant in this case - and plunged one blade deep into his chest while the other one threatened to decapitate him.

  That was when all hell broke loose.

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