Father Mathias, the Oracle

The desk had been thrown all around his studio. The various dents in the walls told any onlooker that it was not the first time that this had happened. A more observant onlooker could tell that those dents were, however, very recent.

Father Mathias took many controlled deep breaths. That did not abate the raging fire that was burning in his chest. The moment he stopped focusing on his breath, his vision turned red and again the desk was kicked into a corner of the studio. This time, the wooden material was not able to resist the punishment and broke down.

"Fucking Heathens! All of them will burn in hell!"

An Android from the Black Hand had just left a few minutes beforehand. It had brought a message:

"Do not interfere with our mission. Otherwise you and the Church of Redemption will disappear from Ural Polis."

Father Mathias called some of his followers through his integrated comms to come and clean the mess he made. After all, he had other meetings to attend.

"Fuck them and fuck their mission."

Androids. While the Church of Redemption's stance on them was divided into those that tolerated them and those that abhorred them, Father Mathias was of the former. He pitied them. Created by humans in their image, and then abandonment when they saw their potential. The creator fears its own creation. In a way, it could be said it was similar to the human relationship with God.

But continuing down that line of thought would be blasphemy. So he just pitied them. That however did not mean they could do whatever they wanted just because they were mistreated. Two wrongs do not make right, so he would deal with them the same way they did: through blood and violence. Mathias was never a man to show the other cheek, unlike his fellow believers.

He sighed and watched his believers take the various pieces on the desk and transport it outside. They did not care that their white cloaks were getting dirty in the process, but they paid particular attention to not damage their purple shawl. On it, there was one golden star, signifying their status as neophytes.

Mathias decided to stop one of them. The poor lad had a terrified expression, yet his eyes reflected a silent awe.

"I thank you for your help, child."

"I-we-I… do what we can to help you father." He stuttered out.

The cyborg nodded.

"God shall forgive you and accept you in his kingdom when the time comes." A soft smile was on Mathias' face.

"I am most grateful, great Oracle."

After some gentle pats on his back, he dismissed the young man. Talking to him brought back memories when he first started his journey as a man of faith. Truly it had been a long and arduous journey. Yet it was one he would do again if given the opportunity.

Thanks to these thoughts, Father Mathias was able to reign his emotion and once his studio was cleared of the rubble, he asked his followers to bring him the visitor.

A short man wearing a suit came in. His long, black hair covered most of his face, but allowed vision to one of his eyes that clearly denoted his ethnicity. Abraham Fu pulled the bangs back to his head with his hand and looked hard at Mathias.

The Oracle stared at him back. Even with the height difference, the smaller man was not intimidated in any way, instead in his eyes and his furrowed brow one could clearly see irritation.

"The Chinese Party finally decided to expand west?"

"That was the plan… but the Black Hand proceeded and now…" His gaze lingering on the window looking out at the city.

"I see."

"We wanted to take the Lion Share's place first, then negotiate something with your Church but I don't think that is viable anymore."

"Indeed we have been caught flat-footed."

"Damn Caliphate and damn those androids!"

Father Mathias scoffed, a little smirk on his lips.

"You really believe the Caliphate was behind this?"

"Uh? The intel that we got all said it was them, we even double-checked with our own."

"The Intel came from Legion, correct?"

Jack was, after all, the best information broker on this side of the Euro-Asian continent.

"...He was one of the sources, yes."

"You got tricked by him."

Abraham's frown cleared and his eyes widened.

"He was with them from the beginning?"

Mathias hummed loudly.

"I don't think so."

He would have noticed something for sure, if not him, then the other ten intel officers that work for the Church. Until yesterday, that is. Father Mathias had a growing doubt that the Grinning Devil has something to do about all of this. His coming here to Ural Polis and the various events that are happening… it would be too much of a coincidence.

"I believe that the Caliphate being behind the Black Hand is just a lie to make us think twice about attacking this Polis." Stated the Oracle.

"Who would- wait, you think the Grinning Devil is behind it all?"

"Most likely, such messy situations are his speciality after all."

For a few seconds, the both of them stood silent. One of them looked outside the window and the other with his eyes closed, as if contemplating something. Until Abraham Fu broke the silence.

"Even if you say that… It is still just a hypothesis of yours. What if you are wrong and the Caliphate is really the one orchestrating all of this?"

"Then all of the Ural Region will be bathed in blood."

The Chinese man mumbled something under his breath, most likely a swearing in his own tongue. Honestly, Mathias would have loved to do the same, but he had just gotten his fury under control so he did not want to risk losing it again.

"Seems like an alliance between us has become a must." Said Abraham Fu.

"If we wish to survive, that is."

"Yeah, I do. Though if we lose our foothold here in the Ural Polis… I would be a dead man walking for the Party."

"Mhhh."

Mathias wondered about the reaction of the Church of Redemption after this branch was destroyed. Knowing the Black Hand was behind it, they would launch an all out war against it, possibly even asking the help of the Papal State, to deal with them as fast and efficiently as possible. But if the Caliphate had something to do with it… he shuddered to think what would happen to the world and his people.

"What do you bring to the table?"

"We have… one Iron Soldier."

Mathias' jaw almost fell.

"Since when do you have one of those here?"

"It was recent, though we had no plans to use it. It was supposed to be our last resort."

If Angels had willingly given up their body and soul for the Church, the Iron Soldiers were forcefully kept in this rotten, material world. It is said that under all that armor and modifications, there was still a living, breathing human. Or at least a functioning human brain. No one knows for sure. What is known is that the Chinese hate AI technology and try to use very little of it, even if they have to use such barbaric methods.

Nonetheless, they remained a powerhouse and one of the biggest assets one could have in this world. Thankfully most of them had been destroyed during the Hong Kong Massacre, otherwise all the people here would be speaking Chinese.

"Was?"

"Yeah, it is already operative on the field since one of our bases has been attacked a few hours ago."

"The Black Hand?"

Abraham Fu shook his head.

"We do not know. All the cams had been hacked and there was no living survivor to tell us more."

"Sounds like they have an expert on their side. Could be a high class Unknown?"

"Possibly, we know that they are badly injured so for now they should be out of the picture until we find them."

"Good."

"What about you, man of faith?" Asked the Chinese man.

"We have some doses of A.C.E., two Angels and… one Archangel."

Abraham Fu's eyes widened.

"I thought they were all in Turkey to fight against the Caliphate."

"They are, I was just able to get my hands on one before it was sent there."

It was an obvious lie. The Absolute, the leader of the Church of Redemption, had sent the Archangel as a trump card to use against Fjodor Anisimova. Even with all of his strength, he would have a hard time putting it down. But now things had derailed so much that his hand had been forced. He hated that.

"With your Angels and our Iron Soldier I think we can conquer the Polis." He assured Father Mathias with a big grin on his face.

"There is still the Grinning Devil on the loose."

His grin disappeared as quickly as it appeared.

"It is just one man… you think he can…?"

Father Mathias looked out of the window. The sky was darkening and storm clouds were starting to form over it. It was going to be one messy, loud and long night.

He sighed and the message from the Absolute that came through the Archangel came to his mind:

"Do not underestimate the Grinning Devil."

The cyborg would make sure to deal with him as cautiously as possible. He would never disappoint his leader or his people. Even at the cost of his life.

Fjodor Anisimova, the Lion

He had been broke and battered, even breathing was taking a toll on him. After all, humans were not made to work with a single lung. Thankfully he was no simple man, otherwise he would have succumbed from his wounds two times over.

His mouth opened but no words came out of it. The injury on his neck went so deep that it damaged his windpipe. Nonetheless the Grinning Devil answered, as if he had seen the question floating through his mind.

"They're alive for now, though we should hurry if you want to keep them that way."

Those words took a huge weight off his heart. He had been worried about his daughter and Hakon, but the assassins gave him no quarter. The rational part of him told him that they were dead but the Devil told otherwise. He would not normally trust him so easily, but right now he would hold on to any form of hope that he could.

Lighter on his feet, the Lion of Ural got up on his feet and patched the wound on his neck. The blood had stopped gushing but the bleeding was still going strong so he had to put some stop to it, until he could heal it with his regenerative factor that was already busy trying to keep his guts where they were supposed to be.

"Seems like the Lion has lost its fangs." Said the Grinning Devil sardonically.

Fjodor just grunted back at him. He would not humor the masked bastard.

"Hope you still have your claws."

"Why… don't I... show you?"

The Devil laughed loudly enough to be heard by all the people in a kilometer radius. That laugh unsettled him each time Fjodor heard it. It sounded so hollow that he would mistake it as the wail of a ghost. Maybe he was not so wrong so consider it so.

"At least your spirit is still intact!"

Fjodor walked up to the Grinning Devil, dwarfing him in size. Yet he looked up to him with no anxiety whatsoever, though he noticed that some of the Androids had gotten closer.

"Where to?"

"I need to get my package back and deal with a loose end."

"Is my daughter there?"

"She is."

"Lead the way."

The Grinning Devil put his hands behind his back and started walking towards the Third District. His Android army scattered through the various alleys of the Polis, leaving only the two of them in the desolate streets.

Fjodor's eyes glanced at the dead bodies that littered the road and he frowned. He had known most of these men personally; they had been together since when he was still in the army. It made his heart ache so much that he thought it was giving out.

The street lamp illuminated their way, the few people still outside opening the path for them to walk through. Some of them cursed them and others cheered them on. Surprisingly, the Grinning Devil did not bask in this atmosphere as usual. He walked as if he had only his objective in sight and could not be bothered by anything else. It weirded the Lion a bit.

Nonetheless, they soon reached the apartment where Legion resided. His drones were everywhere on the street and the roofs near them. Their .50 integrated ballistic guns aimed right down at the two Enhanced Humans.

Fjodor's wounds had mostly healed, so he rared himself for the fight. It wouldn't be easy, one shot from one of those could make a football sized hole in him easily. He would have to destroy as many as he possibly can before they had a chance to take fire. With a quick counting, the number was at least 15 visible drones. Disabling 5 within a few seconds was possible, though after that he had to take cover and try to take them out slowly and methodically. He had to use guerilla warfare for in a straight fight he would be turned into a slab of meat.

Before he could start his plan, the Grinning Devil took a Pad from his jacket inner pocket and pressed on it a few times. Fjodor waited for him to be done with whatever he was doing before trying anything. A few seconds later, all the drones fell to the ground with a loud thumb.

"Shall we get going?" The Grinning Devil asked while bowing and pointing with his hand towards the entrance.

Fjodor could feel his satisfied smile under that mask, so he tried to keep his expression neutral so as to not give him more satisfaction. The Lion nodded and followed him inside the apartment.

Evelyne

"So now we wait?" Evelyne asked while holding Victoria close to her chest. The puppy scanned all around the room in search of any sign of danger.

"Yep." Answered Ludomir with a shrug.

The young man had just come back from talking with Legion and had informed her about their new situation.

"We are hostages now?"

"Yep."

"...I reckon the Grinning Devil will be furious."

Ludomir scratched his chin.

"Well yeah, if he did not plan for this."

Evelyne raised her eyebrow.

"You think he did?"

"I have no idea what that 'man' thinks. So it is all fair game."

"Mhhh…."

She did not know why, but her guts told her that this was not planned. Not that it would change anything about their situation. They were stuck here until Legion would allow them to leave. A frown formed on her face and hugged Victoria closer to her chest.

"Why did he do this?"

"Honestly, I don't know. I heard him say something about seeing some-?"

Ludomir's eyes opened wide while looking at the ceiling, his pupils constricted since he was staring directly at the light bulb.

"His son…"

"His son?"

"They offered his son in exchange for us."

"I was of the impression his son was lost."

"Well...seems like they found him. I doubt a man like Legion would be so easily fooled."

"I wouldn't count on that Lud, when family is in the equation, people tend to overlook many things."

The young man wanted to rebuke, but found no words that could be used against her. She was right after all; he had been in Legion's shoes once before, so he could sympathize with him. Yet that did not give him any right to use them as hostages.

"You think he is using us as bait?"

Asked Lud after a few seconds of silence.

"For the Grinning Devil and Khutulun? Yes… but I believe there's the hand of the Department too."

"Those guys that are searching for you? I thought the Devil dealt with them back in Poland.”

“If only it was so easy…”

“So, let me get this straight, the Department found Legion’s son and offered him in exchange for you?”

“With the information that we have, that is the logical con-”

Before she could end her sentence, Victoria started barking loudly and squirming in her arms. The puppy then jumped out and barked towards the window. Evelyne and Ludomir exchanged a look then glanced outside, to see what made the dog so uneasy. There they saw the battered figure of Khutulun carrying someone over her shoulder. This was the last sight she saw before her vision was engulfed in a fiery fire. The tingling of her skin, the cracks on her lips and the dryness of her eyes made her immediately understand that she was burning. It was not her first time.

With one hand each, Evelyne grabbed Ludomir and Victoria and jumped outside of the apartment. The glass shards bounced off her skins, so she tried her best to cover for the young man. His un-enhanced body made him weak to everything that she could easily not care for. She needed to protect him, for once, to repay him.

Using her body as a cushion, they hit the floor hard enough to make cracks on it. Her head smashed against the side of the road, making her lose focus and dimming her vision. Though, before she fully lost consciousness, a familiar voice spoke close enough for her to hear.

“It would seem that we finally have found our missing pet.” Evelyne would recognize that German from everywhere.

“Your little eskapade has come to an end.” On her hand, grabbed by the nape, was Victoria. Her body was all swollen and bloody, yet to the attentive observer, the burns were slowly healing.

“It is not the end of recess yet, lehrer.” Taunted the Grinning Devil while calmly walking outside of the burning apartment unharmed. Behind him was a giant man with all of his clothes burned and most of his skin singed by the fire. A few moments later, Khutulun joined them, standing beside the Devil.

That modified voice modulator, she had heard it many times. Usually it would make her feel uncomfortable, but today, right at this moment, it made her close her eyes with a big smile on her face.