A few minutes after the engagement was over, the panel of the door located in the far side of the room suddenly lit up from red to green.
The blast door opened swiftly with the usual rumble and behind it, stood Scarlet, an unknown man and the Guildmaster himself.
Scarlet was wearing the usual casual outfit, only this time, she had a few holsters with various side arms. What really drew attention were the twin Katanas on her back.
The blades were completely identical, expect for their inscription. The left one had "Canis Lupus" engraved in the blade, while the right one was sporting just one word: "Vindex".
Besides her, Henry Price was leaning against the law. Heavily armored and armed, shotgun in his hands and a whole lot of grenades on his belt.
And finally, Daniels, the guildmaster. Unlike everyone else, he was wearing a black suit and no visible weapons were present.
He lit a cigarette and began inspecting the dead bodies, while his personal guard split to secure both exits.
Jack nodded a few times, clearly impressed by the Reeves' performance. He resumed his tour while avoiding eye contact.
Finally, after more than ten minutes and three cigarettes later, he faced Aidan.
The Guildmaster's eyes were unusual, borderline inhuman. They had a strange, albeit pallid, blue glow to them. Anyone with the adequate augmentations would notice that the Guildmaster was on a whole new level when it came down to upgrades.
For a brief moment he smiled, but his face swiftly went back to the usual serious expression.
Mr. Reeves...can I call you Aidan? Yeah, I'll just do that.
That was a rather impressive display there. We knew you would overperform the initial predictions, but we had no idea you could use your nanites to physically change your body.
Impressive, very, very impressive. And despite you were told the eggheads are expendable, you opted out from sacrificing them.
Naturally, that proves you have kept your sanity and human nature and seals the deal on your evaluation.
That being said, there's only one more thing to do, after that, you'll be free to take a few days off or alternatively, remain in this facility and assist the Core personal with their efforts to get it back up and running. But I digress.
Aidan, you have served the Core, and by extent me, very well for the past few months. You've successfully adapted to your upgrades and transcended past the limitations of the human body. I am hereby granting you the rank "Paladin of the Core". Wear your colors well. It's up to you if you achieve the goal and transcend the limitations of the human mind as well.
If you have any questions, now would be the best time to ask.
