Chapter 37

Klangwan, the captain of the Sentinel Force, enters their office after a patrol in the Sixth, Seventh, Eight, and Ninth Circles of The Underworld. Being captain by rank, he is considered a leader who’s an example to be followed and looked up to by others. He also oversees all the activities of his subordinates as well as their team as a whole. He is the first decision-maker in their team and reports directly to Thanatos.

“Captain Klangwan, where have you been?” asked Janzo, his deputy and second-in-command among the Sentinels.

“Hello Janzo. I just got back from Tartarus – patrols.”

“Boss has been looking for you for a while now. You need to see him.”

“Where is he?”

“I don’t know now. However, he told me to direct you to his office.”

“Thank you, Janzo. I’ll get going,” said Klangwan, leaving his deputy behind.

“Good luck on your promotion, captain.”

At this, Klangwan stops short and returns to where Janzo is. His promotion from being the head of the Sentinels to an incoming Hukom is the recent news in their group. To everyone’s surprise, including Thanatos, Klangwan has refused the promotion, which is an enigma since every Sentinel would want to become a Hukom.

“How do you know that, Janzo?” asked Klangwan.

“Come on, captain. You cannot hide something like that from our team. So, have you accepted it?”

“Not yet. I am not even sure if I will accept it.”

“What? Why not?” answered Janzo with a tone of disbelief.

“I think being a Hukom is not for me. I’d rather be a Sentinel.”

“What if boss offers it to you again today? I think that is the reason he has been looking for you.”

“If he does, I’ll reject it for the final time. I think that someone is more suitable for the position of a Hukom aside from me.”

“Whatever your decision is, captain, the entire force is in full support of you.”

“Thank you, Janzo.”

“Tell us the good news when you get back.”

Klangwan did not answer his deputy, but just gives him a wave. From their office, which is located inside the Pavilion Of The Judges, Klangwan walks towards the Vale Of Mourning. There stands a great pentagonal edifice about the size of three Parthenon temples put side by side.

The building is where Thanatos’ and Nemesis’ offices are. Its division is quite straight-forward: one-third of it is for Thanatos and the Sentinels; the second third is for Nemesis and the Hukoms; and the remaining third is a complex where Hukoms and Sentinels train. When he gets inside their own partition, Captain Klangwan gets salutes from the other Sentinels whether inside a room or those that he comes across with.

The training ground has two separations: one side is where the Sentinels trains, while on the other side, in a building that looks like a circular crypt with a dome on top, the Hukoms can be found mastering their black magic for capturing Wayward Souls. The structure is protected by a net made of lightning bolts to keep out everyone else except a Hukom or the other gods.

When Klangwan reaches the end of their partition of the complex, he takes a right at the fork in the way, at the end of which is the office of Thanatos. Guarding its entrance is a cyclops, which is taller than the door itself and has a brawny body. It has a mace tucked in its belt, while on his hand is a double-edged axe.

“Welcome Captain Klangwan. Lord Thanatos has been waiting for you,” greeted the cyclops, opening the door for the leader of the Sentinels.

“Thank you, Polyphemus,” responded Klangwan. Inside, Thanatos is at the far end of the room, standing behind a table and reading a paper floating in front of him.

“You are late, captain. Where have you been?” said Thanatos. He waves his hand, and the paper falls and lands atop his table.

“Forgive me, my lord. I was on patrol in Tartarus.”

“I see. Nemesis told me – again – that you refused another offer to be a Hukom. Is that true, captain?”

“Yes my lord.”

“Why?” Thanatos’ tone is more of an objection rather than disappointment. “Do you want to be a Sentinel forever?”

“It’s just I don’t see myself as a Hukom, my lord.”

“But with your skill, in no time, you can be a Chief Hukom.”

“It is enticing indeed, but I prefer to be sane rather than be just a mindless automaton, my lord,” said Klangwan to counter. He knows, after all, the further training he has to take to become a Hukom. Apart from that, he will be purged of his feelings, and it will be replaced with nothing but the desire to catch a Wayward Soul by any means necessary. In turn, his existence will be only to pursue those kinds of souls and bring them to The Underworld to be judged. It is true that being a Hukom will give him greater powers than that of a Sentinel, but at the cost of being hollow underneath. As such is tantamount to being like – as he said it – an automaton. “I don’t want to be like that, Lord Thanatos,” he continued.

“Then, what do you want?”

“I want to protect Tasked Souls, my lord.”

“You’ve really got the hang of being a Sentinel, haven’t you captain? A mission makes you feel comfortable, right?”

“Yes my lord. That is why I still want to have field work once in a while aside from being the captain of the team. Oh, speaking of that, can you tell me news about one I requested?”

“That is the reason I was looking for you. But before I get to that, is there really no chance that you would accept your promotion to be a Hukom?”

“Better give it to others – to Janzo. Maybe he’ll accept it. Besides, he is my deputy and is next in the seniority line.”

“Janzo can’t – not just yet.”

“Sorry? Why not, my lord?”

“Janzo has to be here and act in your place as captain while you are not here.”

“Why would I not be…wait. My lord, are you…”

“Well, you requested for a mission, right, captain? I now have one for you,” said Thanatos. He snaps his fingers, and a file of papers appears on the table. Thanatos pushes it towards Klangwan.

“FINALLY!” said the ecstatic Captain Klangwan. He takes the file and browses the papers inside. “Three full moons, isn’t it, my lord?”

“Yes. It’s a bit tight considering that your Subject has to solve a killing case,” answered Thanatos.

“It says here he wants to solve his boyfriend’s case.”

“Correct. As for your Subject, I think you know what will happen to him, captain, if he fails.”

“I know, my lord. He’ll end up in the Meadows.”

“Good. I am confident that with your skills, you’ll be able to help your Subject in his task. That is why I chose you. If you need to prepare anything in advance, you should do it as early as now, captain. The next full moon is approaching fast.”

“Yes my lord. Does Janzo have a mission?”

“Hmmmm. No, I don’t think so. He does give lessons to our trainees. Sometimes, he does routinary patrols. That’s it.”

“Okay. I’ll look for him first: I have to ask him about some things.”

“Another thing, captain. Should you fail in this mission, you will go down three ranks: you will end up from Captain to Sentinel Second Class, and you will have to work your way up, going through Third Class, Fourth Class, before becoming Captain again. Clear?”

“I will accept that consequence, my lord,” replied Klangwan without even having second thoughts about a possible demotion.

“Okay, you are dismissed, captain. I have to go as well – lots of souls to welcome and bring to the Pavilion.”

“Thank you, my lord.”

Thanatos, then, covers himself with his wings and disappears. Captain Klangwan finds Janzo as he makes his way back to their office at the Pavilion Of The Judges.

“At ease,” said Klangwan as Janzo salutes him in the hallway. “Do you have spare time, Janzo?” he asked.

“Yes captain. Why?”

“Wait for me here. I’ll just get something from the library.”

Janzo nods. After some time waiting, he sees Captain Klangwan walking towards him with two books, each about three-and-a-half inches in thickness, floating on both sides of him. On his right hand, he is holding something like a wand, whose tip is raised towards the ceiling and is letting out a bright white light.

“Come with me, Janzo,” invited Klangwan. Janzo walks beside his captain to exit the building.

“Where to, captain?”

“Our office. I have something to ask you.”

Janzo sees the floating books up close but did not ask anything about it. “Did you meet with boss?” he asked instead.

“Yes. You were right: he offered me the Hukom position again.”

“What did you say?”

“I turned it down for good. However, on the bright side, I got a mission.”

“What? Who will be captain while you are in the Human World?”

“You are, Janzo.”

“I am not that confident to lead, sir.”

They already pass the Meadows Of Asphodel and are now near the gate of The Underworld where they see Cerberus lying on the ground, looking lazy. This is something that is rarely seen, and maybe because there are only a few souls walking towards the gate with no stubborn ones. They stop and Klangwan faces his deputy captain.

“No, Janzo. I know that you can do my duties while I am away. I recommended you to be my deputy because I believe in you. You just have to believe in yourself that you can do it,” encouraged Captain Klangwan.

“Thank you for the confidence, captain. I’ll…uhm..I’ll do my best.”

“That’s fair enough. I believe you can do it. The Sentinels are all cooperative, so you won’t have any problem with them.”

“Fingers crossed. Haha. Oh, by the way, captain, what are these books for, and what do you need from me.”

“I’ll tell you in the office. Come on,” said Klangwan. They continue walking and pass the sleepy-looking Cerberus.

Inside their office again, they stop at Klangwan’s table, which has a few dividers that separate it from the others. He tells Janzo to sit down at the front, while he moves behind the table and sits on the chair. Klangwan moves his wand downward, to which the thick books follow. The bright light on its tip disappears when the books land on top of his table.

“Security Enchantments and Formidable Drafts? What do you need these books for, captain?” asked Janzo, perplexed.

“Your specialization are enchantments and potions. Mine are curses and counter-curses.”

“Yes. How is that relevant?”

“As preparation for my mission, I need to know something about an enchantment and a potion,” Klangwan said. He flicks his wand, and each of the books open to the chapter where he needs them to be in.

“Janzo, I need you to tell me everything you know about this enchantment,” continued Klangwan, tapping a page in Security Enchantments, “and this potion,” he added, tapping a page, this time, in Formidable Drafts.