The last rays of the sun vanished from the horizon, and several sentinels were faintly discernible at the forward positions of Manhattan's main battlefield. The fighting had ceased for a whole day, and it was a rare opportunity to rest, and many soldiers fell asleep exhausted in the trenches.

30 meters underground from the headquarters of the United Nations Republic of Nations, the headquarters of the BPRD.

Val Bayano was walking in the direction of the headquarters through the sentinel's aisle, and the guards immediately saluted when they saw Val approaching, and Val symbolically returned the salute before walking straight past them.

As the chief defense commander of the BPRD headquarters, Vaal is revered by many, and is known as the "Guardian's Shield" as a sign of their respect. Of course, Val himself deserves the title.

Although he is only 40 years old this year, Val has already achieved what many people can only dream of. He was the youngest commander-in-chief of the defense, and one of the most trusted by the commander-in-chief, and although they did not give in to each other on the surface, they actually had a good personal relationship in private, and Val could be said to be the one who knew Commander-in-Chief Rajel very well.

He reached out and unscrewed the door to the headquarters conference room, while Rajer sat in the chair in the center of the room, clearly waiting for a long time.

"You're late. Rajer glanced down at his watch, "It's a full five minutes late, it's not like you're always done." ”

Val chose a chair opposite Rajel and sat down, he looked at Rajel and said, "There are some things that have delayed my trip, please forgive me, after all, there are unforeseen circumstances, don't you?"

Rajel laughed, "I won't ask too much about your private affairs, and besides, you weren't too late." I came to you for something very important to discuss, except for what I should be concerned about right now. ”

"That's right. Val said, "Then I'd like to hear about it." ”

"Jon and we have been out of touch for over 12 hours. "It seems that there is a good chance that something has happened to them, and although it is unfortunate, it is true. I decided to send a new ship to pick up Team X, what do you think of that plan?"

"It's good if you decide for yourself. Val looked impatient. "And I'll say more, I'm not in favor of letting those imps do this task. Now, if something happens, I'm afraid you'll be held very responsible. ”

"I've thought about this for a long time. "But I trust them, and I don't regret taking a heavy responsibility for that trust." ”

"You old man is stubborn. Val pouted at him, "The older you get, the more stubborn you become, and you have to do everything according to your own ideas." Don't think about the consequences at all, others are getting older and more stable, but you are getting older and more impulsive. ”

"That's the most authentic side of me. Rajer laughed heartily, "Instead of hiding it, it's better to be the most authentic version of yourself." To live is to recognize oneself, so that life is meaningful. ”

Val felt his fingers twitch uncontrollably, but he quickly suppressed the feeling. "You have something to say, Rajer. His eyes became as sharp as the blades of a knife. "You seem to be hinting at me something, am I right?"

"Maybe. Rajel rose from his chair and slowly paced to Val's side. "Do you think you recognize yourself?" he asked, "or are you living in hypocrisy, struggling painfully to break through this hypocrisy and embrace your own truth?"

"Rub" Val stood up suddenly, his eyes completely lost their temperature: "I have always known who I am, whether it was before or now, I know in my heart what I really are, are you doubting me?"

"Sit down. Rajer only whispered those two words, and Val didn't say anything as he pressed his stiff body into his seat.

"Remember the Andean incident? I don't think you will forget it. Rajel said nonchalantly.

But it was the words he said casually that made Val's pupils suddenly constrict. How is that possible? Does that guy already know the truth about that? This is absolutely not going to happen!

The Andean was originally a luxury cruise ship, but a decade ago a group of members of an organization calling themselves the "Sword of Damocles" hijacked the ship. If it was just them, they might not be able to make any waves, but what people didn't expect was that these people actually held such a terrifying weapon as the "Demon Core" in their hands.

The "Demon Core" is a core-like item extracted from the BPRD Research Laboratory, and its material is derived from the corpses of demons killed by the BPRD. After countless failures, scientists were finally able to perfectly extract the chaotic energy in the demon's blood, which is the essence of the "Demon Core".

But soon scientists discovered the terrifying truth of the "demonic core": once this substance comes into contact with a living thing, the chaotic energy will fill the living thing's body and heat up their body. The end result of this change is that any living thing that comes into contact with it will be reduced to high-explosive bombs.

After finally learning the truth, the BPRD headquarters immediately ordered the "Demon Core" that had been extracted to be permanently sealed, and forever banned research on extracting the chaotic energy from the demon's body.

However, the organization known as the "Sword of Damocles" has acquired the "Demon Core" out of nowhere, and has transformed them into extremely terrifying weapons through simple modifications. They claim to purify the world, and the weapon used to purify it is the "Demon Core" in their hands.

Because the situation was very serious, the BPRD immediately sent an operation force, and the captain of the operation force at that time was Val. Everyone thought that the matter would be resolved soon, as Vaal was already a very famous witcher in the headquarters by then.

However, the operation turned out to be a fiasco, and although they rescued most of the civilians who were taken hostage, the remaining members of the "Sword of Damocles" used the "Demon Core" in a desperate gamble.

Amid the flames that stained the sky red and the deafening roar, the Andean was completely reduced to ashes with the remaining civilians above who had not had time to retreat, and Val was also affected by the explosion and was seriously injured and hospitalized.

The BPRD did not issue any penalty orders against Val, because by any measure, Val had done everything he could. But Val seemed to be greatly stimulated, and he did not say a word during the entire hospitalization, and when the hospitalization period expired, he disappeared as if he had evaporated from the world.

No one knows where he went, or why he disappeared. But after three months of being gone, Val suddenly returned to the BPRD headquarters, much to everyone's surprise.

The turmoil faded into oblivion over time, and Val eventually became the head of the BPRD's defense, and everyone thought he deserved it.

Upon his return, the Vaal continued to live and work as before, but Rajer could sense that the man was no longer the same as before: the witcher who had been fighting valiantly under the banner of justice was gone, replaced by a soul that was silent in the dark.

Rajer had no idea why Val had changed this way, but his instincts had always told him that Val's transformation must have something to do with the Andean incident.

"Of course I remember that. After an awkward silence, Val replied. "It was a real shame for me, and not being able to save those people was the reason why I couldn't forgive myself in my life, and it will always be etched in my soul. ”

Is it just a shame?, Rajer thought to himself, staring into Val's eyes. You're lying, Val, and it's true that you can't forget it, but you've kept the truth from it, and still do you?

"I see, I'm sorry I uncovered your old scars. Rajer turned his head away from Val's eyes, for those eyes conveyed to him facts and truths that he knew but did not want to see.

"It's fine. Val bit his lower lip, "I think you deliberately brought it up to beat me, and if that's the case, then I'm pretty well educated." If there's nothing to do right now, then I'll leave first. ”

Val turned and walked towards the door of the conference room, but just as he was about to step out of the conference room, Rajel suddenly stopped him, "I think your left hand doesn't hurt anymore, Val?"

Val's movements froze suddenly, and he slowly looked back at Rajer, and said in a very relaxed tone, "My left hand has never hurt, when have you been so worried?" He raised his left hand and made a goodbye gesture to Rajer, then left the main room without looking back.

"You've chosen that path, Val. Rajer let out a long sigh, for the first time he felt that the world was so full of malice. "If you're going to come, hurry up, I'll end your pain with my own hands, you've been tormented by this pain for too long, you must be tired. ”

Walking through the dimly lit hallway, Val felt physically and mentally exhausted. Rajer already knew, he smiled bitterly in his heart, thinking that I was the smartest person was actually a fool, thinking that I could hide from that person's eyes, but in fact his every move was all known to him.

"What's the matter, are you going to back off?" the nameless man's voice echoed in his head. "Now you and I have no way back but to continue according to the previous plan. ”

"I don't need your reminder. Val whispered, "I have to abandon everything that I think is important for the sake of that noblest purpose, and I do not regret it!"

He reached into the pocket of his trousers, took out a black cap, and gently and carefully stroked the cap with silk thread embroidered with his name. Whether it's pain or hatred, everything will end soon, and the pain of this world will end. He put on his cap, lowered the brim and walked into the darkness.