15 minutes ago, at Zero Squad base;
As Kruger was busy looking at the files containing the expenditure for the last month, the door was knocked on three times in a row before it was opened and Azzy entered the office.
Upon seeing the troublesome subordinate, Kruger felt like a throb in his head but he kept his cool and let out a smile, "Captain Garcia, come in. Did you get your ID?"
Azzy nodded in response, "Yes. I'm here for my first mission as the captain."
"You sure are quite enthusiastic to prove yourself, although your face tells otherwise," commented Commander Kruger in a casual way to ease up the awkward atmosphere between them after the previous day's argument that led to Azzy's promotion as a challenge.
He then switched his attention to the desktop and logged into the server. While scrolling down the list, he asked, "What level of difficulty you are expecting to receive? Any preferences on the type of mission? Since this is your first mission, I'll let you choose."
"The one that offers the most number of merits," replied Azzy without any hesitation. He added, "Difficulty doesn't matter. However, I don't want long-term missions. I'm also willing to handle multiple missions if they were in nearby locations."
Kruger was slightly surprised by his decision. Seeing that Azzy wanted to earn as many merits as he can earn in a short time, he wondered whether this subordinate of his was desperate for something. What it might be?
There are no further promotions in Zero Squad. Hence, merits cannot be used to gain for the positions.
A captain of Zero squad can rent any weapon developed by the research facility for free.
Azzy returned to the organization after more than two decades. So, a long-term leave is out of the question.
Was he in need of a huge amount of money? It might be possible if he or his parents had taken a loan. Being a descendant of a royal family doesn't mean that he is wealthy.
Or maybe, he needs resources for a breakthrough. Nah, it is unlikely as Azzy is still at mid-rank-7.
Hmm, wait a second. Azzy is still at mid-rank-7 as 27 years ago? Did his progress hit a wall for some reason? Is that why he returned? Or was he in need of material that can help him out?
Kruger couldn't help but think deeply, trying to analyze Azzy's actions because the latter was considered the favorite child of heaven, meaning the one with the highest potential WAMO has discovered so far.
As the elf busy with his thoughts about Azzy's future, all of a sudden, alarms ring in his office as if there was a fire broke out.
He returned to his senses and quickly contacts someone to find out why the headquarters sent the emergency signal to Zero Squad.
In the next instant, he receives a piece of information and Kruger abruptly gets up from his seat.
"Captain Garcia, The gates of Tartarus was summoned quite near to our headquarters. I need you to come with me. It is an emergency."
After giving him basic information, without asking for his opinion, Kruger then grabbed Azzy and teleported to the location.
Azzy didn't know that he would teleport to mid-air. He doesn't know how to fly yet. Hence, under the effects of the planet's gravity, he started falling. After taking control of his body, he thought of landing on his feet but surprisingly, he met Lenore, with whom he had done a few missions under Rudra's leadership during the past ten days.
Back to the present;
Azzy and Lenore were staring at the giant scarlet gate that appeared out of nowhere as the other Exalt realm experts of WAMO arrived at the location one after another.
*Dum* Dum* Dum*
Sounds of striking the door from the other side reverberated all over the city. And every time, that sound came out of the door, Azzy and the others were hit with vibrations.
The lights on the road burst out and cracks started appearing on the buildings that were hit by the vibrations. Some of them were on the brink of destruction.
Unfortunately, a lot of civilians with weak physiques couldn't escape unscathed.
Tens of casualties occurred as some people either refused to leave the town as advised by the officials or didn't have enough time.
As the low-level officials got busy with evacuating the civilians, powerful experts like Azzy stood still in their spots and prepared themselves for the incoming disaster.
Soon, the giant door started to open at the pace of a snail while the three guardians (President Cornelius, Vice President Ramiel Crescent, and Supreme Commander Kruger) got into action.
They went into a triangular formation as they surrounded the gate of Tartarus and started to perform a joint sealing technique to send it away.
Meanwhile, wisps of dark smoke escaped the gate one after another and landed on the ground, transforming into demons.
Kruger and the other two were startled by this phenomenon. Hence, they canceled their technique midway and went on to create a sturdy giant barrier instead to keep the demons within the barrier before sending them back to their dimension.
By the time their barrier is finished, about 16 demons escaped their prison but none of them were going with their killing spree, and instead, they gathered at the final wisp of smoke that is still in the middle of a transformation.
It was then the commanders of four combat divisions (Dragon Corps, Phoenix Corps, Crimson Lion Corps, and Black Bear Corps) went into their own formation and created a barrier similar to the one around the giant gate.
But, this one is aimed at keeping the escaped demons in the barrier, which is powerful enough to trap any supreme realm expert. The other legendary realm experts like the commander of the general combat division, and a captain belonging to Zero Squad entered the barrier to engage with the enemies.
Meanwhile, a couple of kilometers away from their location, Azzy was waiting for his order while conversing with the Reaper to understand everything about the enemies.
The Reaper started explaining the history of Tartarus.
Before starting about Tartarus, one must learn about Hell or the netherworld.
After the Grim Reapers take the soul of the living beings, they send them to the Abode of Justice, where Astraea, the goddess of justice will make the judgment based on one's sins and virtues.
If virtues completely dominate the sins, then, the soul will get reborn in the Celestial Empire or Heaven.
If virtues and sins were comparable with each other but the former is still on the dominant side, then, one will reborn as a mortal in a random world. Luck and a god's mood will depend heavily on this factor.
And if sins were dominant, then, the soul will be sent to hell for punishment. Well, one can say, it can also be called purification. While going through the punishment, if the souls redeem themselves in the allotted time, then, they will get reborn as mortal and be sent to the spirit realm until their time is up.
However, if the souls fail to redeem themselves, then, they will be reborn as demons and work in hell.
But, what if there is a heavy sinner and the goddess of judgment decides that he isn't worthy of redemption? Then, they will directly be sent to Tartarus, a prison in hell, and spend there for eternity. Obviously, upon staying in such a place for a long time, the corrupted souls will be demonized naturally.
"These weren't demons that you faced during the tournament. These were completely cruel in nature. Hence, you cannot hesitate to use your strongest powers to erase them, Azrael."
The Reaper knows that Azzy will not leave them alive but he doesn't want his host to hold back as the more he will try to keep his strength a secret, the more damage it occurs.
Thankfully, Azzy was also under the same opinion. He replied, "I know. But, I still need to wait for the order if I need to earn merits."
As soon as his words ended, the communication device around his wrist vibrated. As he clicked on it, he heard a familiar voice belonging to President Cornelius.
"Everyone above 7-star realm, engage in battle. 6-star realm Arcana Masters, don't engage the enemies directly and stay on the support side. 5-star realm Arcana Masters and below, don't enter the barrier."
Azzy looked at the girl on his left side, "Are you ready?"
Lenore responded by placing the mask on her face and summoned the flame scythe, "let's go."
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