Ascenders: Rising From Zero 34 Information Gathering

Lady Grant stood in the balcony of a high towering building, some storeys up. The Behind her was her circular walled office depicting a sort of mountain peak when viewed from the ground.

She rested in the balcony, leaning on the guides that were put in place to prevent any unfortunate falling, her japanese kimono outlining her slender but yet power radiating form as she sighed, lost in thought.

Some time back, Lord Bello has ordered her to present a listing of all unusually powerful strong beasts but such listing requirement was definitely lacking.

Did he mean, list out Rare Type beasts? Rare type beasts were unusually powerful in more than one ways that defied reality. Plus the fact that they were always drawn towards Fate Disrupting Beings to eliminate them.

As she thought, a beastkin creature walked in, from her left.

The beast like being had a thick mane of hair masking most of its Lion Face and even falling down on his black long coat. He stood there for awhile watching the Lady Grant.

"Terilius, come forth. Why stay behind?" Lady Grant asked, her fluffy cat ears becoming erect.

"Ah, it's not rumor, indeed. Your keen cat senses are unrivaled in all of Orun." Terilius replied, obviously impressed that she had detected him.

"Enough flattering. You know I wouldn't fall for you, regardless. What do you have for me?" Lady Grant replied, turning around to face the LionFaced Humanoid.

"Something to make you smile with satisfaction." Came an gruff voice as a bearlike humanoid stepped in from behind Terilius.

"Ah... what do I say? Two of the best investigators gracing my presence. It better be worth it." Lady Grant replied, smirking.

"We have lead. Mackrys and I have found something's." Terilius replied as he smacked his lips.

"In my office." Lady Grant smiled, leading the way.

After she had being mandated by Lord Bello, she had swung into action, unwilling to offend the solitary ruler.

They entered through the glass sliding door that was coated with paper to cover its transparency. The office itself contained many files and cabinets with different beast humanoid office assistants dusting and repacking folders.

"Leave us!" Lady Grant ordered as soon as they were seated already. A general shuffling of feet rang out as the attendants walked out of Lady Grant's office.

In terms of political hierarchy, she was the most powerful persona, after Lord Bello, being in charge of the Twin Realms, Capital Of the Allied Beastkins.

"What do you have for me?" The Cat Lady asked, rubbing her palms together.

"Hehe... Honestly we really don't have much..." Terilius started.

"What?"

"Well, we found some things but these are merely speculations. And we could be wrong at any given time. But before we go into this, how have you being holding up?" Terilius asked.

"Yes, true, how was Lord Bello's Second In Command being doing?" Mackrys added.

"Fine. Fine." She heaved. "Okay, not so fine. There have being so much things happening. That Treant was just one of them amidst the rest."

"Yes, the Treant. We heard about it." Mackrys mentioned, snapping a finger as his loose leathery black gown shook at the motion.

"Absolutely. That Treant must have had guts to challenge Lord Bello. It's perplexing that such stupid persons would exist. Do they not fear for their lives?" Terilius asked, frowning slightly.

"Ah, I don't think so. I was there when it happened. And the Treant kept saying he wanted to test Lord Bello's new Law. You know, that law of Annihilation." Lady Grant replied, her voice dropping relatively low towards the end.

"Define Stupidity?" Terilius nodded.

"Stupidity is that Treant." Mackrys replied and the two investigators burst into laughter.

"But... there was something about him though. He called himself, an Ascender, the Eleventh Born. My guess is that Ascenders are just naturally daring or that they are so power packed that they can date whatever odds." Lady Grant muttered, regaining the focus of the two men.

"Speaking of Ascenders, no one would have thought them to be real. But we did find evidence. Towards the first heaven, we found a Sky Gargolye." Mackrys put in.

"How is that unusual? Sky Gargoyles are the berserker machines of the demonkind of First Heaven." Grant replied, rearranging the files on her table to create more space for her hands.

"No, my lady. That is everything unusual. We made sure to soul gaze the beast and we found that the creature's soul is but few weeks old." Terilius backed up.

"And yet, it has accrued so much power already. It's soul Stage was at Omni. Mid-Omni Class. It's impossible for a creature or any creature , be it sentient or beast to have being able to accumulate that amount of power in just two weeks since the time of its birth." Mackrys gesticulated, resounding with fervor.

"It is even impossible, impossible I say for any beast to have grown to Maturity within that short time." Terilius tucked at his mane.

"Hmm... So did you two contain it? Lord Bello said that The EleventhBorn Ascender happened to have a piece of Trixius the great's soul. We will need a captive Ascender to evaluate that, you know."

Lady Grant sighed, marine green eyes darting from both investigators as she absorbed every piece of data.

"No, we couldn't. First Heaven, even if we had the superior firepower but you really don't want us causing a ruckus in the demon homeland. That's like endless battling that eventually will whittle down our strength." Terilius sighed while his partner nodded in agreement.

"And we came across a LightSworn Fox, in one of the Freezones, with the same conditions as the Gargolye. But because of the Freezone Status, we couldn't make any move." Mackrys said, smacking his lips.

"Freezone heh!" Lady Grant muttered.

A Freezone was a Realm that had once being an unclaimed realm but had happened to be wiped out by battle or some sort of devastation. But because of the poor status of the realm, the land was left bare, a factor of the land occupants being unable to afford Agbara infusement to revitalize their realm or because the entire realm was wiped clean.

As result, various powers began settling into these realms and after battling for take over, they had all come to agreement that the realm was not to be claimed and was thus free from any annexation effect like royalties and the likes.

Which also meant that any military action committed in the freezones beside training was a breach of contract, resulting in expensive sanctions.

"I'll find something to do about the politicking of the FreeZone and then we send a containment force to get the Fox. It's seems it's our most accessible Ascender." Lady Grant purred.

"I wouldn't agree so." Terilius said, thoughtfully as he rubbed his mane covered neck.

"Why?" The cat lady and the bear man choruses together.

"In my personal findings, I came across a certain Serpentine Lady. She calls herself Vela, and..." Terilius paused, allowing his information sink in.

"And what?" Lady Grant bared her palms impatiently.

"In my conversing with her..."

"Conversing? This investigation is meant to be private." Mackrys growled.

"Hear me out. She somehow was able to know what I was up to. And she proceeded a lead to me about an Ascender in Drago, An Ironspike Tailed Dog."

"IronSpike Tailed Dog? You are joking, right?" Lady Grant asked with a half smile.

"Definitely he his. We both know these Ascenders take on powerful forms. To say Ironspike is least befitting for an Ascender." Mackrys added.

"Well, Doesn't that make the procurement of an Ascender even easier for us? Plus, She said that this Ascender is the FirstBorn Ascender. Imagine how much information we would garner if we had the First of the Ascenders in our hands." Terilius preached.

"Hmm. That sounds sensible. But again, how did this Vela come across this information? The knowledge of Ascenders is very enclosed." Grant asked, staring into Terilius' deep blue eyes.

"She claimed to be a merchant, food merchant specializing in the sales of Ironspike Tailed Dog meat to the Drakonian Confederacy and that her hunter had happened to come across the beast which had had soul gazed after the beast battled him, giving him a scar." Terilius spoke, shaking his head slowly as he recollected the conversation.

"Did you see this hunter?" Mackrys shifted his weight, eyeing his fellow partner warily.

"Well, no. But her claims are clean. She is from the Trade Unity, a recognizable merchant power there."

"What does she want in return? Serpentine people really don't do favors without asking for something." Lady Grant asked, her face growing a thousand years old within a second.

If this Vela was providing information as this, then it was highly feasible she would ask for an arm and leg in return.

Plus just how had she been able to know what was being investigated?

Something wasn't just adding up.

"She just asks to be given permission to see the creature that tore a scar on one of her hunters once it is captured."

"Just that?" Lady Grant almost jumped out of her seat.

This was all too ridiculous.

"Yes, My Lady. It's the best lead we have so far, for so little a price." Terilius put in, earning a grunt from his partner.

"Drago City has strictest forest policy because of the CFR but I'll see what to do about that. However, I want investigations on that Vela of a being. I want to know who she really is, since when has she been trading? Her birth time? I want to know everything about her. Am I understood?" Lady Grant ordered, her face sterned up as her green eyes darted left to right, focused on her two investigators.

Chapter end