Chapter 44: The Truth Told

“Beat him at his own game…?” Octane tilted his head in confusion. “How?”

“It’s simple, really,” Finn replied. “First, donate the money he gave you to a hospital, just in case Heartbeat checks the transaction history — though I doubt he will. Then, report back to him and join their squadron as spies. The more of our own people we have in their ranks, the better when the time comes to take them down once and for all.”

“… I can’t say I’m very fond of serving under him,” Storm said hesitantly. “Why do we need to take him down again? We already saved Archon and Melvia.”

“That may be so, but the root cause of all this is not gone,” Iris answered in my stead, having understood my plan completely without me even saying anything to her beforehand. “Remember, in Heartbeat’s eyes, Archon and Melvia are already dead. In other words, for as long as Heartbeat is still alive, Archon and Melvia cannot show themselves in public or at the guild.”

“Hm… I can Shapeshift, so that won’t be a problem for me,” Melvia said. “I suppose disguises could also work, but it’s better not to risk it — especially since he’s one of the major powerhouses of this District.”

“Well, I don’t particularly mind not being able to go out.” Archon shrugged. “But there is still always the chance of Heartbeat somehow finding out about us being alive, one way or another. It’s best to get rid of him completely. Only then can we truly relax.”

“The Guildmaster has a plan to do so, but she is more concerned with other matters at the moment,” Iris explained. “But if we can plant two more spies in Heartbeat’s army, that would make it easier to take them down when the Guildmaster finally turns her attention to them.”

“I see…” Storm muttered, narrowing his eyes. “If that’s the case, we’ll do it.”

“B-But, I’m horrible at acting…” Octane whimpered quietly.

“Calm down,” Storm scoffed at his partner. “Just play mute, remember? You did fine earlier today. Acting a little nervous is no problem, since we’ll be in a new environment. Heartbeat won’t find anything suspicious.”

Octane sighed and reluctantly agreed. “… Okay then.”

“Cheer up, Max,” Melvia comforted warmly, patting him on the shoulder. “You’ll do just fine. I’m sure of it.”

“Thanks, Aunt Melvia…”

“But that aside…” Archon focused his gaze on Finn. “There is just one more thing I’m concerned about.”

Finn, knowing what was coming, didn’t show any visible change in his expression and merely remained as calm as ever.

“Finn… how were you able to use the Blacksmith Angelica?”

At this, Storm and Octane, who weren’t there at the time, dropped their jaws in shock.

“W-What? Doesn’t he have Oculus…?”

“That’s what I thought too, until…” Archon trailed off, narrowing his eyes. “Is there something you aren’t telling us, Finn?”

Finn fell silent as all eyes converged on him. Iris had in fact wanted to ask this question a lot sooner, but she realized there was probably a reason why Finn didn’t tell them about this, hence why she didn’t bring the topic up. But now that Archon broke the ice, she wanted to know as well.

“… I didn’t tell you all about this since I wasn’t sure of what was going on myself,” Finn replied after some hesitation. “I originally had been planning on discussing this matter with you after figuring out what the origins of my powers were, but I was forced to use the Blacksmith Angelica earlier today because of the dire situation.”

“What powers…?” Iris asked, both confused and concerned.

“The power-“

Finn suddenly reached over the table and placed his hand on Storm’s head, causing him to faint and collapse after a few seconds.

“-To copy another’s Angelica.”

As if to demonstrate, he activated the Stormbringer Angelica he had just acquired from Storm. Everyone’s eyes widened as a bright blue hue appeared around his body.

“Storm!” Octane cried, roughly shaking his friend in a futile attempt to wake him up.

“He will be fine,” Finn said calmly. “He’ll wake up not remembering anything of what just happened.”

“This…” Archon shook his head in disbelief at Finn’s power. “But… how? I’ve never seen something like this before…”

“That’s what I’m trying to find out,” Finn replied, deactivating his Angelica and sitting back down in his chair. “I kindly ask all of you to keep this power of mine a secret, since word of it getting out could be troublesome for me.”

“Don’t worry, we won’t tell anyone,” Fanatic reassured. “But does this have something to do with last time’s mission, perhaps…?”

“You mean how he was completely fine, despite being splashed in the face by Phantom blood?” Iris asked for confirmation.

Fanatic nodded. “I can’t help but feel there’s a connection between the two, somehow…”

“… Maybe,” Finn said quietly. “But I obtained the Oculus Angelica from Ivis before that even happened, so it’s unlikely.”

Everyone fell silent once more, trying to overcome the shock and possibly come up with a logical explanation for this, but it was futile.

“Well, although I do think figuring out where this power came from and how you got it is quite important, I also believe it’s better not to worry over it too much,” Melvia interjected, stretching her arms and smiling widely. “This skill of yours is incredibly powerful, Finn. It reminds me of the advanced Ability certain Mimic Angelica users can use — temporarily duplicate another’s Angelica and use it as their own.”

“I’ve never seen someone use that before…” Iris murmured. “Though the Guildmaster could probably pull it off?”

“Most likely,” Melvia responded. “But Finn’s power is even stronger than that. Rather than spend all our time wondering where it came from, I think we should just help Finn embrace it as much as we can, while he’s still here.”

“Help him embrace it…? Melvia, you mean…” Archon trailed off, realizing what his lover was suggesting.

She smiled. “Indeed. Finn, come here.”

Finn knew what she was going to do, naturally. Seeing no reason to refuse, he did as told, walking in the direction of her voice.

“Alright. Now, take my hand. I have the Shapeshifter Angelica — it may not be the most powerful, but it’s certainly useful, to say to the least. I’m sure it’ll come in handy for you, one day.”

“… Thank you.”

With those brisk words, Finn connected his hand with hers firmly and felt the warm energy flowing into his body. A few seconds later, Melvia collapsed and fell into Archon’s arms.

“She will wake up in an hour or so,” Finn said calmly.

“I see. Octane, what about you?” Archon asked, turning to the speed daredevil who was still busy looking after his friend.

“Uh, sure,” he replied, scratching his hair. “He just needs to touch me to take my Angelica, right? Be careful though, Daredevil’s a bit hard to control.”

“Got it.”

Finn walked over to him and similarly took his hand as well. After several seconds, Octane fell unconscious and slumped over, just like Storm and Melvia.

“That’s all of them,” Fanatic said. “Neither Reaper nor I have Angelicas.”

“I’m aware. Thanks again, Archon.”

“Thank Melvia later,” Archon replied with a chuckle. “But that aside… now that we know about this power of yours, I think some training is necessary. Tomorrow, when you wake up, come find me in my workshop. The Blacksmith Angelica is a hard one to master, kiddo.”

Finn nodded gratefully. “Understood.”

With that, Finn headed upstairs, having finished his food already. Iris, after some hesitation, followed him in search of more answers.

Quite coincidentally, he too had some questions for her — for a while now, actually. He just never got the opportunity to ask them since he wasn’t sure whether she would demand something in return. But now that he had practically confessed his powers to everyone, there was no point holding back anymore.

‘Iris… just who are you?’