Scithe landed on the teleportation platform.
Instead of looking around toward his surroundings, he frowned for a moment and closed his eyes, slowly regaining his bearing.
Despite the fact this was a private teleportation pad in the most secretive location the organization had to offer, there were already two individuals ready to receive Scithe. Neither said a word as Scithe regained his bearings and neither did Scithe acknowledge them.
Had Leonel been there, he would have immediately recognized these two as the very same male and female pair that had branded him with the mark that now hovered over his forehead.
When Scithe finally opened his eyes, the two of them stepped forward.
"Officer Fin greets Commander."
"Officer Thorn greets Commander."
Scithe looked toward the two of them indifferently.
The title of 'Officer' was just another way of saying unranked in their organization, while these 'Officers' all referred to those above them as Commander. It was similar to how some cultures called even those unrelated to them 'Uncle' or 'Big Brother', but in this case, rather than being a polite address, it was a way of drawing a line between true members of the organization and those who weren't worthy.
"I received information that a certain Leonel Morales came through this city. You have ten minutes to get me information about his whereabouts and other pertinent information. You may leave."
Fin and Thorn froze, looking toward each other with their heads still bowed.
Scithe frowned. "What?"
He could clearly see that there was something wrong.
The male officer, Fin, looked up carefully and explained everything from start to finish.
"… The most recent information we have of him is that he has left the city. If Commander wants, we can use the monitoring brand to retrieve him."
The truth was that these two Officers hadn't put much stock in Leonel. Though they branded him, that was a matter of convenience rather than necessity. They knew well that the matter was an inconvenience to Leonel and also knew that it was unnecessary to go so far, but so what? Who cared how Leonel felt about it?
Never could they have expected that someone like Scithe would personally descend for someone they put no importance on.
When Scithe heard the story, his frown couldn't help but deepen.
Now, this matter he had been hoping to keep under wraps was likely the talk of much of the city.
This alone might have been fine, but the real problem was that now Leonel's conflict with their organization was public. There was no getting rid of this stain.
Even if there was no direct evidence, if Leonel's mysterious backing was strong enough, they might not give a damn and kill those responsible anyway. This was the kind of power true strength could give someone.
Scithe's frown deepened, causing Thorn and Fin to break out into a cold sweat, even the usually expressionless Thorn couldn't help but tremble.
After a while, Scithe's frown smoothed out.
Since others could use him as a scapegoat, why couldn't he do the same? Who said he had to get directly involved?
It was already a problem that he had come here personally. But, there was good news as well.
For one, he had come through a private port. Secondly, because he was trying to be secretive to begin with, these two were the only ones who knew about his arrival. And, coincidentally, these two were the only ones with direct contact and interaction with Leonel as well. This made things as perfect and watertight as they could be.
"Good." Scithe suddenly spoke. "Make sure to monitor him closely, very closely. Should he show any signs of stepping out of line, don't hesitate to punish him according to the law.
"I will be doing an inspection on this branch for the next while. Do as you usually do."
With that, Scithe walked by the two officers and disappeared down the corridor, leaving the two of them stunned.
They weren't sure how they were supposed to take this information. Was there a hidden meaning? Were they supposed to take it at face value?
"What… what do we do…" Fin's confident sneer was nowhere to be seen. He looked more like a wounded pup who had been abandoned by his owner.
"…"
Thorn remained silent for a long while. Clearly, she too was confused. In the end, she spoke hesitantly.
"This may be a test… The first thing Commander asked about when he came to was about this Leonel character. It's clear that his goal in coming here was related to this young man. But, he became apprehensive after hearing we already had dealings with him.
"On top of that, Commander came through the private pad only used in special circumstances… It's obvious that Commander wants to use us as scapegoats… It's clear that this Leonel's background isn't as simple as we once thought."
Fin shivered at these words. It seemed that he too had already thought of this, it was just that he didn't want to believe it.
"But… This is still an opportunity." Thorn said slowly. "If we can kill this Leonel secretly, or manage to kill him in an above board manner without bending or violating any rules, I think there's a chance we can turn this disaster into a chance to rise up the ranks."
Fin clenched his jaw. "It's already impossible to kill him secretly. The only chance is to use the latter option."
"… Agreed."
The only question was… how could they manipulate this Leonel into making a mistake worth his life?
Deep within the corridor, Scithe, who the two thought had already left, curled his lip. It seems he was quite satisfied with the conclusion the two officers had come to.
With that, he turned and truly walked away completely.
'This is still interesting, though...' Scithe thought to himself. 'This branch seems to be on high alert for fugitives, but why be on alert to the point of coincidentally arresting a Third DImensional ant?'
It was quite the coincidence indeed. Their organization had two conflicts with Leonel, neither related to the other. It seemed that there was something interesting going on in this quadrant.
Since he was here, he might as well dip a toe in and profit as well.
**
What the two officers and Scithe had no idea about was that as they were speaking, the young man they were plotting the death of was already at death's door.
Leonel lied convulsing in a pool of his own blood.
By now, Little Tolly was hopping around anxiously, but the little guy had no idea what to do.
The scar along Leonel side seemed to be growing more and more vicious with each passing moment. From afar, it looked as though Leonel was boiling from the inside out. The scar was like a burning hot coal, shining with a blazing red-orange light.
It was as that moment that an already terrible situation seemed to get worse.
The scar finally stopped growing and began to rapidly shrink. But, with this shrinkage came a violent suction energy. Not only was Leonel's own blood suddenly swallowed from around him, but the vitality within his body was being rapidly drained.
Soon, Leonel went from a human that was bursting at the seams to a skeleton without an ounce of meat left on his body.
His eyes sunk in, their whites flickering about wildly.. He looked like he was truly at his end.