The Divided Guardian [Cursed Anti-Hero, Progression, Dark Fantasy]

Vienna sat alone in the stripped-down office, her laptop casting a pale glow across the empty room. Every piece of furniture had been boxed and shipped away, leaving only her desk and the blue light of her screen. Each drag from her cigarette painted her face in shifting orange shadows, smoke curling through the darkness like ghostly fingers.

Her fingers hovered over the keyboard, something weighing heavy on her mind. Then a familiar knock broke the silence.

"It's Lector. Permission to enter?"

She took another slow drag, letting smoke drift from her lips. "Come in."

The door opened, but Vienna's eyebrow arched when she spotted a second silhouette trailing behind her assistant.

"Damn, it's like a cave in here." A woman's voice cut through the darkness. She turned toward the desk, squinting at Vienna behind the glowing screen. "You the boss lady he's been going on about?"

Lector chuckled despite Vienna's stone-faced expression. He positioned Milo in front of the desk while moving to Vienna's side. "Allow me to make introductions. Lady Vienna, meet the celebrated investigator Milo Marinez." He gestured toward his superior, then back to their guest. "Miss Marinez, may I present my superior."

Vienna said nothing. The silence stretched tight as a wire until Milo decided to break it.

"You know, staring at screens in the dark like that? Terrible for your eyesight. Just saying."

Another beat of silence before Vienna finally spoke, her voice flat as steel. "Lector."

Her assistant straightened immediately, adjusting his tie even in the dim light. "Yes, My Lady?"

Vienna's expression revealed nothing, which somehow made the tension worse. "Who is this woman, and why did you bring her to me?"

Lector cleared his throat carefully. "I've been doing some thinking, and I've reached a rather troubling conclusion about our current situation."

Vienna crushed her cigarette in the ashtray and immediately lit another. "Which is?"

Before Lector could answer, Milo stepped forward smoothly. "Hey, mind if I bum one? Just ran out." She approached the desk without a trace of fear, as comfortable as if she were visiting an old friend.

Lector's face went pale as Vienna studied this bold newcomer. To his surprise, Vienna pulled out a cigarette and offered it. Milo leaned across the desk, letting Vienna light it for her. The flame illuminated both their faces for a brief moment before Milo pulled back, taking her first drag.

"Damn, that's quality tobacco. You've got good taste."

Lector cleared his throat again, sweat beading on his forehead. "As I was explaining, with our complete focus shifting to the primary project, I need someone capable to handle my previous responsibilities. That's where Miss Marinez comes in. Her credentials speak for—"

"Save the sales pitch." Milo's voice cut through Lector's practiced presentation. She took another drag, adding her smoke to the hazy air. "She already knows what I can do."

Something flickered behind Vienna's eyes. After a long moment, she addressed Lector without looking away from Milo. "And if she proves inadequate?"

Lector's smile turned warm and deadly. "Then she'll suffer an unfortunate accident."

"How tragic that would be." Milo's dry response suggested she found the threat more amusing than frightening. "So is someone going to tell me what I'm actually supposed to do, or are we playing twenty questions all night?"

"Brief her." Vienna's command came sharp and final.

"With pleasure." Lector pulled out his tablet, tapping the screen before setting it on the desk facing Milo. Videos began playing—footage of a young man with orange glowing eyes in various public confrontations. The image quality varied, but the intensity was unmistakable. "Your target. Former Auron Division officer with a vigilante streak a mile wide. Novaria knows him as the Angel of Death. Meet Angelo Ashworth."

Milo leaned closer, studying the images with professional interest. "What's the job? Capture? Because I should mention I'm not exactly superhuman here."

Lector chuckled. "Nothing so crude. Your mission is intelligence gathering—study him, learn his patterns, understand exactly what makes him tick."

"The way you're talking about him..." Milo's investigator instincts kicked in. "You make him sound like some kind of lab specimen."

Lector's smile widened with genuine satisfaction. "One of a kind, actually."

Milo took a long, thoughtful drag. "What's his power level? How close can I get before I'm completely screwed?"

"Currently? High Adept rank. He recently defeated an Elite-level opponent in single combat." Lector's tone remained conversational, as if discussing the weather.

"That's it?" Milo's voice carried a dangerous edge, like someone reconsidering a bad investment. "Don't you people have anyone stronger than that in your scary secret organization?"

Lector clasped his hands behind his back with obvious pride. "Don't underestimate the Anti-Enlightened Society. Our leader here is Master rank."

Milo's eyes widened as she reassessed Vienna, who continued studying her with predatory patience.

Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

"We have numerous Arch and Master rank operatives at our disposal," Lector continued. "Even a few Enlightened level."

"Then why not just grab this guy?" Genuine confusion colored Milo's voice. But before anyone could respond, her mind started working the problem. "No, wait..." She began pacing the small room, her footsteps echoing in the darkness. Both Vienna and Lector tracked her movement like cats watching prey.

"It's not that you can't capture him. It's that you won't." She stopped pacing, turning to face them. "What stops a lion from catching a mouse? When the mouse isn't meant to be eaten." Her pacing resumed. "You need him alive and functional. But that still doesn't explain why you won't capture him, unless..." The pieces clicked together in her mind. "Unless you're certain the mouse has an escape plan you don't understand."

"Excellent deduction." Lector nodded approvingly. "Precisely right. We don't know his full capabilities. Attempting capture without understanding them would be worse than unwise—it would be catastrophically foolish."

Milo continued smoking, studying her cigarette as if it held secrets. "But you do know something about him, right?"

Lector's head dipped slightly. "We do. Though you might find this difficult to believe—Angelo can manifest two perfect duplicates of himself."

Milo tilted her head. "Like light Auron projections? Some kind of evolution ability?"

"I'm afraid these duplicates aren't Auron powers at all." Lector shook his head with certainty.

"I don't follow."

"These duplicates operate independently. They have their own personalities, their own agendas, even their own names—Red and Blue." Lector's voice carried the weight of impossible truth.

"That sounds absolutely batshit crazy." Milo blinked hard. "Where the hell did you get this information?"

"One of our contacts encountered them personally. We also interrogated Hugo Reid—formerly known as The Hanger, leader of the Cliffhanger gang."

"Which is...?"

"The Elite-rank Auron I mentioned earlier." Lector explained. "He fought all three of them. According to Reid, Red and Blue can transform into living mist—like fog creatures that think and act independently."

Milo rubbed her temples. "What are they? Are they even human?"

Lector stroked his chin while Vienna shot him a warning look. He chose his words carefully. "Our best theory is that they're the result of a scientific experiment—one person somehow split into three distinct entities. But we have no hard evidence supporting that claim."

"Let's say I buy this crazy story." Milo's tone turned cautious. "Why do you need him in the first place? How does he connect to..." She gestured around the empty room. "All this?"

Vienna crushed her cigarette and leaned forward, folding her hands. "That information is classified beyond your clearance level. All I'll tell you is that he may be the key to a breakthrough in our research."

Milo sighed and took one final long drag. "Figured you'd say that. So what resources do I get? Any cool spy gadgets?"

Lector ignored the sarcasm in her voice. "First, you'll command two high-ranking Aurons—both for protection and field operations."

Milo nodded.

"Second, I'll connect you with our operative who can actually communicate with Angelo—"

"Let me guess." Milo cut him off. "You won't tell me their real name."

Lector's smile returned. "Correct. Our operatives work on a need-to-know basis with code names only. Your contact will be 'Fortress.' Your designation is 'Owl.'"

"Owl, huh?" Milo mused aloud. "Smart creature that watches from a distance and strikes when the moment's right. Fitting choice. Which means you assign these names based on our characteristics—easier to remember who's who. So Fortress would suggest someone who—"

"We get it. You're brilliant. Stop analyzing every word we say." Vienna's interruption carried sharp impatience.

"Force of habit. Apologies." Milo's tone held zero remorse. She clapped once. "So let me make sure I understand—my job is learning everything about Angelo and his clones so you can capture him without any surprises?"

Lector nodded. "That's one way to frame it, yes."

Milo said nothing for a moment, walking around the room as if searching for something or wrestling with internal conflict. Finally, she stopped. "Yeah, no. I can't do that."

Both Lector and Vienna looked genuinely taken aback. Lector glanced between the women in near panic. "Miss Marinez, I strongly urge you to reconsider—"

Milo held up her palm. "Easy there, old man. I wasn't finished." Lector exhaled slowly and gestured for her to continue. "This Angelo sounds like a complete anomaly—not my usual type of case. To figure out how he works just from watching, you need a genius. Not someone like me—I'm talking about the draw-equations-on-walls, talk-to-themselves kind of genius. The weird kind."

Lector looked tired. "That's not exactly a flattering way to describe someone. Besides, our researchers are completely occupied with the main project."

"That's fine. I already have someone in mind." Milo waved dismissively. "If you'll let me recruit him."

Vienna leaned forward with interest. "And who might that be?"

"Ivan Krokovitch." Milo said the name like she was announcing royalty. "Former world chess champion."

"Ivan...?" Lector echoed uncertainly.

"He's Inferni?" Vienna asked.

"Lives here in Maridian now, but yeah, he's not native." Milo confirmed.

"I have... several questions." Lector said with obvious resignation.

"Such as?" Milo asked with false innocence. "What's he doing here? His mother was dying, needed a specialist who only practiced at Coralslo Hospital here in Maridian."

Lector opened his mouth, but Milo was already answering. "How do I know about him? Because I investigated that exact hospital—nasty business. Doctors allegedly harvesting organs from fresh corpses for black market sales. The surgeon who was supposed to operate on his mother never showed up, so naturally I had to look into why."

Lector tried to speak, but Milo steamrolled ahead. "Why would he join us? Great question. Turns out the doctor didn't disappear because of the scandal—he underwent Enlightenment the day before surgery and was immediately recruited or restricted by the Enlightened Society."

"Let me guess." Vienna's authoritative voice cut through Milo's rapid-fire explanation. "The mother died as a result, making him perfect recruitment material for us."

Milo pointed finger-guns at Vienna. "Bingo."

Lector dragged his hand down his face, trying to recover some dignity. "So this Ivan—you believe he's intelligent enough to figure out Angelo's situation?"

Milo shifted her weight. "Depends on how complex this guy's deal really is. But I'm cautiously optimistic."

"Do you know where to find him, or do you need our intelligence network's assistance?" Lector asked.

"Nah, I know exactly where he lives. Never left Maridian after his mother died." Milo shrugged.

Vienna tapped her desk with finality. "Very well. I believe we have an understanding."

Lector stepped forward. "Once we relocate to Outlaw's Oasis, communication will be extremely difficult. You'll be operating mostly independent. That's significant responsibility."

Milo cracked her knuckles. "Don't worry about me, old man. Just keep your end of the bargain."

Lector closed his eyes solemnly. "You have my word."

"Alright, what about my bodyguards? Can I at least get their names? Where are they? I hope they can drive because we're heading straight to Ivan from here." Milo's enthusiasm was unmistakable.

For the first time, Lector looked genuinely uncomfortable. He cleared his throat carefully. "Their names... well, one is called Ritto and the other is... Clay Two Point Zero. Clay the Second, if you prefer."

Milo blinked. "Those are... weird names."

Vienna rolled her eyes as unpleasant images of a certain eccentric doctor flashed through her mind. "You can thank their creator for that."

"Creator?"

"Indeed." Lector tried to maintain his smooth tone. "You see, these two are... biodroids."

Milo took a second to process the unfamiliar word before blurting out, "What the fuck is a biodroid?"