25 Chapter 25 - Messenger of God

"Huh?" A loud thud boomed in the silent and serene hallway, surprising the guard wearing grayish black armor that stood guard in front of the entrance that opened abruptly. From the open door, he saw a bunch of his fellow guards rushing in with their rifles aimed at him.

Upon noticing his presence, the men that came rushing in toppled him down before he could even react, tying up his arms and legs and planting his head on the ground.

"W-What are you guys doing?!" He questioned while struggling to move. "Have you all lost your goddamn minds?!"

"No, Eiji." The man grabbing his head chuckled in a crazed and zealous manner. "We were simply enlightened of the error of our ways!"

"Come!" The man laughed. "We will show you just how wrong we are, and that a path to redemption has opened up for us!"

The man lifted up his head in response to the sound of footsteps that echoed from nowhere. In the dim room shone by soft rays of light, he saw a youthful figure with fair skin and dazzling golden eyes that resembles stars made of pure gold. His presence radiated endless benevolence and warmth, melting the man's anxiety and worries like a block of ice being placed on top of warm flames.

He felt that if he were to stare long enough, he would be placed into a total daze by the person's angelic visage. Nay, he already started to assume that the boy wasn't human but instead originate from the heavens above.

He squinted his eyes as he didn't dare to look at the figure, but once again, the man holding his hands and legs clamped at his eyelids and forced him to open his eyes. "Look, Eiji! This is the messenger of God!"

His eyes stared upon the angelic being that walked closer to him. The closer the person was, the faster his heart turned erratic. Unconsciously, thoughts of regret and memories of the sins he committed surfaced in his mind one by one.

The guilt he felt, the suffering he gave to others, the lives he took away, and the death he spread, all of it transformed his mind into a raging storm of negative emotions that slowly caused him to break down and cry uncontrollably.

"Are you regretful of the actions you took, my child?" The holy entity stood before him and remained a step away. The man raised his head and stared at the figure's golden eyes with a tearful face.

"Yes!" He sobbed as he felt his body turn weak and limp. The unbearable guilt weighed down on his soul, placing him deeper and deeper into the abyss created by his own sins.

"No worries," the holy figure whispered in a gentle tone as the man felt a hand pressed down on his head. "From now on, you too shall be a worker of God."

"Come, let your sins be the driving force of your goodwill." Stolas smiled gently and removed his hand from the person's head.

Eiji felt the pair of hands wrapped around his arms and legs pulled away, and he fell to his knees and stared up into the sky with trembling eyes. Upon looking up, he saw the light above him as if the presence of God directly stared at him.

"Your will is my will!" Eiji stood up with a shaky voice. He wiped the tears away from his eyes and grabbed his gun. Nodding at his newfound teammates who wished to spread God's glory, he clenched his fist and nodded his head.

"Let's continue."

Inside Kryptos Headquarters.

Within a certain room, a series of monitors played live feeds of different cameras on different bases all throughout the island. Sitting on top of a chair, a man wearing a black cloak and a silver mask stared at the monitors with indifferent eyes, and simply observed as tens of his men were converted into zealous believers of a fake God and a phony angel.

Even though he has already seen this back when this first happened, that was only a video and he didn't get to see it live. Now that he was witnessing it for himself firsthand, he gained a deeper gauge at just how terrifying the boy named Dolian Tatori was. A cruel and cold smirk started to appear on his face behind his silver mask as he leaned forward to further observe the heretical claims the boy spread.

In his eyes, Dolian was just a normal boy. Everyone believed he was a normal boy. But the thing he was watching right now couldn't be far farther from that claim. Throughout his entire life, he encountered very few things that surprised him as much as Dolian's actions did.

In fact, Leader even believed that Dolian was simply way too terrifying with how he fooled everyone for so long without slipping a single time. For nearly a decade or perhaps more, he has hidden this side of himself from public eyes and remained under the radar of the government, the American government which was far from stupid and knew all too well how terrifying Dolian's potential was based on his quirk's description.

That alone was a testament to many of the things that might have happened under the scenes in that boy's normal life. Leader even wonders if Dolian deliberately allowed himself to get caught, but that's something he doesn't need to worry about. After all, he was confident in his own strength and the knowledge he has access to, intel that can be said to be ahead of its time.

'High intellect that perhaps even surpasses my own, manipulation capabilities that delude trained guards into believing he is the messenger of God with ease, invisibility, great strength, defense that can handle bullets like they're nothing; he's a powerhouse in his own right even though his quirk isn't meant for fighting.'

'And he's still only a child.' Leader took off his mask and revealed a scarred face that runs down from his right eye down through his nose bridge and down to his left cheek. His face was particularly pale and haggard as if he was sick.

"Hooo." He lets out a turbid breath and pats his chest. "The strain of going back in time taxes my body too much. If not for my previous training, I would be unable to do anything for a short while and waste my precious time."

He rubbed the back of his neck and moved his gaze toward the monitors once again. There, he saw Dolian dealing with more guards in an attempt to brainwash them just like the others.

"Stop!" The person at the front of the guards pointed his gun at Dolian. Stolas remained fearless and still wore his genial smile.

'A good manipulator is also a good actor.' He added in his mind while staring at the fellow who was pointing his gun at him with squinted eyes.

"Are you sure you want to do another foul deed, my child?" He asked with a soothing voice that caused their fighting spirits to waver.

His holy appearance also started to do its magic as some subconsciously turned the trajectory of their guns away without realizing it. Some even stopped themselves from activating their quirks and waited for things to escalate before taking action.

Even though most wouldn't like to admit it, looks do matter. Stolas knew that concept very well and was taking full advantage of it. With his modified appearance and world-class acting that only a few can rival, Stolas was confident in his attempt to deal with all of them through coercion and trickery.

Stolas walked forward with slow and steady steps, but the man at the front remained fearless and unwavering. He pointed his gun right at the angelic figure without indecisiveness or doubt over his actions.

"Are you the captain of this group?" Stolas inquired while staring at the opposing guards who didn't dare to look back at him.

Every time they were met with those pair of golden eyes, memories of their crimes surfaced In their minds as If the burden of their sins were piling upon them.

"Why should I answer the question of a dead man?" The man cocked his gun at Stolas' forehead and smirked.

'Leader did a number on this guy's mind.' Stolas inwardly admired Leader's skills. 'Of course, my master is better.'

"Why are you so hostile, dear?" Stolas asked and turned to look back at the man right in the eye. As he did so, the man flinched back but quickly regained his overbearing aura.

"You really wanna die so early, huh? Then let me do it for you!" He grip the handle of the gun tightly and pressed it harder against Stolas' head. But even though he threatened Stolas, the holy figure remained impassive and gazed at the man's face warmly as if he was pitying and giving solace to a man who lost his way.

"If that would liberate you from your worries, then go." Stolas closed his eyes and smiled, surprising the man.

"Are you mad?" He pressed harder, but the rogue guards that Stolas gathered remained silent as if they were assured of the messenger of God's safety.

"Mad is the wrong term." Stolas continued to close his eyes and widened his smile. "I'm simply helping you get liberated from your sins."

"My sins?" The man paused as he felt something grabbing his heart. He slowly turned to look away from Stolas and moved his gaze toward his teammates and previous teammates.

They were all looking at the angelic figure with zeal. The tears dripping down their eyes were contaminated with an endless flood of regret and guilt. Guilt for the wrongdoings they have done in the past. Grief for the lives they took away with their own hands. Regret for the actions they made that brought sorrow to countless others.

Soon, the same started to happen to the loyal man as he turned to look back at Stolas in his bewilderment. Before he realized it, he felt something warm and wet trickling down his cheeks. He moved his hand to slowly touch the area around his eyes, and he felt his tears flowing out without stop.

'Why am I crying?' He asked himself to try and find an answer to his confusion.

'Why am I crying?' He asked again, but this time, his crying was more intense. He tried to wipe away his tears time and time again, but they returned stronger each time.

He looked back at Stolas, and he was once again greeted by the same genial smile that brought him warmth. All of the things he have done in his mind, all of the baleful cries of the spirits that were once alive started to calm down, and warm sunshine seemed to bathe him in its warmth.

'What is this warmth?' He moved his trembling hand that held the gun away from Stolas' forehead and instead clutched his pulsating heart. Even though the torment of his past actions remained, he felt as if they were being cleansed by the presence of the boy in front of him.

"W-Who are you?" He asked through bated breath.

Stolas smiled upon hearing that question. "I'm simply helping lost lambs down the path of repentance."

"Repentance?" He asked for further confirmation.

"Fufufu, yes. Repentance." Stolas chuckled and spread his arms out. "The endless love of our God gives everyone a second chance."

"Even the cruelest of sinners can turn over a new leaf and become the greatest heroes to ever exist."

"Devils can become angels with the right guidance, and I'm simply the shepherd assigned by our Lord to help you all go back on the right path."

"The right path…" He whispered to himself. He closed his eyes and let his tears flow without a care in the world.

"Are you saying that even I can repent for my sins?" He opened his eyes and looked down at Stolas.

"Of course." Stolas clapped his hands. "After all, if even the Devil himself was given a second chance, then you deserve it too."

The man took a deep breath and put his gun back in its holster. Then, he clenched his fist and pounded his chest, "Very well!"

"From now on, Base 8 shall be one of the holy domains of God!"

"And we, guards of Base 8, shall be its protectors and warriors!"

"Are you all fine with that?!" He looked back at the guards behind him who stared back at him with shining eyes.

"SIR, YES SIR!" They clenched their fists and pounded their chest just like he did. They stood with their backs straight and tall as if welcoming the presence of this newfound path of redemption.

"GOOD!" The man nodded his head and knelt down on the ground in front of Stolas.

"We hope that you're mission will prove to be a success, dear messenger of God!"

"It's not just my mission, it's our mission." Stolas smiled and moved his gaze toward the group of fervent warriors now under his reign.

"What a monster." Leader muttered under his breath and stared at the screen with clear awe in his eyes. "If only you weren't my enemy."

As he said so, he closed his eyes and smirked. Even if that young monster was already this strong, there was still a gap between Dolian and him. He has been running this organization for decades already, and he wasn't going to be defeated by one boy just because he was a great manipulator.

"This organization wasn't built upon camaraderie or power in numbers. It was built upon my own strength!" He clenched his fists tightly and smirked.

As he went to take a quick rest to alleviate the symptoms brought by traveling through time, a pair of golden vertical eyes stared at him from the shadows before they then quickly disappeared.

AN: This chapter has 2331 words.

Dolian's gonna be a menace after Arc 1. He's like Adam, but way worse because of his unrestricted freedom. Like, imagine you're shittng and Dolian's just besides you, warping your mind. Heck, I'm not surprised if Dolian's just always on each chapter starting in Arc 2 and beyond. He's just there, not once mentioned but always hidden behind the shadows of the mind.

(April 22, 2023 - 513rd day of writing)

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