This situation could not possibly get any worse than this. Not only was the highly suspicious Dullahan being assigned to its original case, it also had a baseline strength that broached the realm of impossibility for regular humans. Even for Dullahans, his strength was unnatural.

Most of his supposed species were only as strong as top athlete humans. Some managed to go beyond that but never to this extent. Any feats of this kind required the use of more esoteric tools and even technology.

Though given that there were doubts about his existence as a Dullahan, it wasn't a surprise that he stood out from them. However, it was never expected to be in this manner.

I felt like pulling my hair out. What were the superiors thinking? I already had an uncooperative lead, and they sent me a highly suspicious target not yet trained in our tactics? This was practically asking for something to go wrong, especially with the recent reforms.

It wasn't like I had a whole load of other responsibilities to attend to. No, Sir. I did not have to oversee an entire unit while leading the case and making sure all possible witnesses were dealt with.

No instead, I was stuck on watch duty for an anomaly. I truly enjoyed my work, but this was unacceptable. I felt tempted to file a report, but given that one of the overseers had dropped him in my lap, I doubted they would transfer him. I was stuck with this man for the foreseeable future.

Isabella seemed to find joy in my suffering, but I could tell that even she was uncertain of their decision. Hell, she'd said it herself before she was forced to return back to her duties. Leaving me with a fast-approaching headache and confused thoughts.

What were the plans of Davinci? The man was a genius in multiple fields. There was no way he left the Dullahn here for no reason. I just wished I knew what was going on.

"Hurry up in there." I rapped my knuckles against a metal door multiple times as I shouted into the showers.

He sure did like to take his sweet time; he'd already been in there for 20 minutes.

It was only 30 minutes later that he walked out of the shower dressed. This time he walked out with his head already on. Which I honestly didn't like. His headless form was better; at least, I wouldn't have to see those strange eyes.

"I'll be your instructor and supervisor from now on." Despite trying, I did poorly at hiding the distrust in my voice. The amused and smug smile that slid on his face made me want to punch him in the face.

"Yes, that is rather obvious." The internal groan that followed was inevitable. Great, not only was he suspicious and creepy, but he was a prick as well.

I ignored his retort and started to walk onwards. I did not look back. The sound of footsteps was enough to let me know of his presence.

"Do you mind if I get your name?" It was a little while into the walk to the briefing room that he finally spoke.

I glanced back at the impassive face of the man before focusing on the route again."I am Evan Scylus, but you will address me as Scylus." There was no response, but I assumed that he nodded.

It didn't matter anyway.

He'd already agreed to the terms beforehand. Nothing that was said here would affect what was first written. Deference to superior unless good reasons were given was one such rule.

The walk to the room was both tedious and unnerving. Having a man with that level of power walking behind you while not being armed with your gear does that.

The arrival of the door that leads to the briefing room could not have come sooner.

The walk had somehow felt wrong. I'd felt as if I was being observed from multiple directions. The silence in itself had felt deafening. I doubled down on my view that the vast majority of anomalies were indeed unnatural.

"In." I opened the door and directed him to enter the room. The room was dark and had few sources of lighting.

We took seats opposite each other and allowed the silence to return briefly. I took out my phone and put on some music. I did better with noise.

I looked and picked out relevant files regarding the subject. What little I had read put me on edge. This was going to be another of those "this makes no sense" days. The explanation given by Dullahan made no sense.

"You don't have to worry bout debriefing me and going through a whole crash course. I have already been informed of my position in this unit, and I've been told about the surveillance. I understand how your unit works." I tensed at his statement.

"I've been tasked to work with you, and I will. I see literally no point in wasting time arguing. That's not really something I do." He leaned back into his seat as he spoke.

He spoke the truth.

While I could question the decision-making process of the overseers, it would do me no good. They probably already had fail-safes in case something went south.

I didn't doubt that they would catch him again if he escaped or betrayed us. I was simply worried about the men that would die before that happened.

I restacked the papers and put my suitcase away before clearing my throat. " If you work like that, then we should get along just fine." He only nodded in understanding.

I was about to continue when a knocking sound was heard from outside the door.

"Come in."

In came one of the guards with more papers in his hand. I wanted to go ahead and curse at the heavens, but I let it go. Why was I being piled with more work?

Once he handed over the papers and I read them, I felt even more frustrated.

I had to return to the original site of 02's and 03's escape with the Dullahan. My protests hitched in my throat as I looked at the company I was carrying.

Any signs of distress would be seen as weak. Given the way the man's eyes darted from side to side, weakness would be seen. This week had been too stressful.

I felt the order to be useless. We had combed through both sites thoroughly and had not managed to track them or find clues. We were currently tracing their movements from the forest. Going back to the beginning would only give 02 and 03 more time.

"Dumb order from the higher-ups?" the Dullahn asked, a knowing look on his face. I did not reply. Instead, I once again read over the paper to make sure I had not misread anything. Unfortunately, I had been right the first time.

Finally, I put the paper down and turned my focus on the man before me.

"You are to begin active duty tomorrow. Given your lack of other responsibilities, you will stay in this base until the start of the mission. A room will be assigned to you, and food will be delivered three times a day. During the task, your only responsibility is to give further insight that we might not have. Any other actions taken will be severy punished. Are we clear?"

"Yep."

I turned to the Gaurd, who was still standing at the door. "Marcus, please take him to his chambers." With a nod, Marcus led the Dullahan out of the room and left me in peace.

Too much was happening at once. Adding this to my responsibilities was unwise. My hands raked through my hair as my headache built up. I pulled out a bottle of pills from my pocket before swallowing them.

My eyes returned back to the orders in front of me. Not only did I have to slow down or progress for a retread, but I also had to carry out an investigation mission into a possible invasion.

According to them, I wouldn't be given any aid in the slightest.

They doubted that it was an actual thing, but they wanted to keep their bases covered. Which meant I would be getting no aid. I pulled out a cig and lit it before inhaling.

The Organization really loved stressing their commanders.

I pulled out all papers and threw myself into the work. I needed to get some of this burden off me. To do that, I had to figure out what exactly was going on.

While the Scylus worried and fretted about all the work he was required to do, he never noticed the mark that slowly disappeared from the back of his neck.

Nor did he notice that he was smoking with his left hand. Scylus never smoked with his left hand, only his right. It's not something he'd ever done before.