Three and Three

The process of signing the contract was much quicker than Horn had imagined.

All he had to do was write his name in ink of an unusually dark hue on the copperplate contract paper, whose header bore the Prevention and Suppression Bureau's motto, "ALIIS SI LICET TIBI NON LICET" ("What is permitted to others is not permitted to you"). Emma put it away, ready to submit it to the Night Duty Department, and that was that.

It was almost unbelievably simple.

Veronica still had other business to attend to, so she hurried off, leaving Emma and Horn facing each other in awkward silence.

The first to crack was the black-haired girl who'd tried to act cool in front of Horn earlier. With a look that said she couldn't keep it in any longer, Emma immediately asked the question she was most curious about.

"How are you still alive—no, immortal—wait, how did you come out of Saliba's hands completely unscathed?"

Sacred Heart Hospital had been reduced to rubble, yet the patient she'd accompanied on a visit was perfectly fine. A few days later, he was bouncing around right in front of her, and had even become her new coworker.

The whole thing was so bizarre that Emma's curiosity was about to burst.

"Hmm—"

"Hmm!?"

Horn stroked his chin and pretended to think. His drawn-out answer made Emma want to use Soul Summoning on him right then and there to drag out the rest of the story.

"Actually, I passed out right from the start. I don't know anything. Maybe some Immortal dropped out of the sky, beat up Saliba, then went on his way."

"Then when I woke up, I found I had a Mark. Goodness, what a headache."

Seriously, dude?

Too shocked to mock Horn's answer, riddled with holes as it was, Emma blurted, "Are you saying you're a self-awakened supernatural?"

Sensing that she could be fooled, Horn naturally went along with it. He had no intention of revealing that he'd transformed into Ghost Rider and joined Veronica in taking down Saliba. Picking up on the key phrase, he asked, "Self-awakened?"

Seeing the clear, innocent look in Horn's eyes, Candle Bearer Emma was suddenly overcome with a sense of duty to teach him. Her eyes brightened. She rose from her chair, touched the wall with a fingertip glowing with light, and left a streak behind. Then she spoke solemnly.

"First, tell me: how much do you know about the secret world and supernatural beings?"

"Reporting to my senior: almost nothing."

Horn obediently got into the role-play and raised one hand to answer.

"Hmm, a complete newbie, then. Well, I suppose I'll have to start by explaining the different ways supernatural beings awaken."

Emma wrote three large lines on the wall, which was now serving as a makeshift blackboard. She cleared her throat, pointed to the first line, and began her explanation.

"The first, and most common, is Higher Elevation."

"Elevation?"

"Though it's called elevation, it could just as easily be contamination. Either way, the important part is these two characters."

Emma underlined "Higher" twice with a bright line from her fingertip and explained, "A set ritual directed toward a higher being, the use of an artifact or Secret Lore, or simply an influence—these can awaken or stain the soul-matter of a newly initiated person with the right potential, anchoring them to the path they're about to take."

"Most organizations create new blood this way, and they keep the specific advancement rituals secret. But one thing is certain: supernatural beings awakened this way are generally locked into a set path from then on, and people of the same rank tend to have similar abilities. Since the results of earlier trial and error provide a foundation, there's a guaranteed minimum level of ability. That makes this method the safest and most widely accessible."

"As long as you have money and connections, and can afford the materials and labor for the ritual, then in theory anyone can obtain the First Seal."

"Why only in theory?"

Horn had just started to think that the bar for becoming a supernatural being wasn't all that high, so he asked in confusion.

Emma sighed and chose a simpler explanation. "Because the supernatural must remain secret, and gaining power brings the risk of losing control and going mad. The risks are enormous, while the rewards are meager. The people in power in various countries know more or less that the secret world exists, but few choose to become true Apprentices. Scholars are rare, too."

"Most would rather use their worldly authority and money to work with forces in the hidden world, or form organizations like our Prevention and Suppression Bureau to curb the spread of supernatural knowledge. After all, Apprentices are people, too. They have to eat. The age of going it alone is long gone. Even an Immortal would have a hard time facing a military siege."

"'Let the Creatures of the Night remain in the night, so that the Creatures of the Day may walk in the day.' That's the guiding principle of our Prevention and Suppression Bureau, and the shared aim of everyone in the Survival Prototype."

Having answered Horn's question, Emma touched the second line, "Self-Awakening," with her fingertip and continued.

"This is the second way to become a supernatural being: an inner power drives you to make contact with the supernatural. It might be the soul-wrenching grief in your bloodline, an obsession with the light, or a dream that still clings to your teeth like honey when you wake. These are all signs of power."

"Those with the right potential can use their own desires to cross the threshold into a dream and lay the foundation for the supernatural. That's enough to obtain the First Seal. Those who advance this way can also follow paths that have already been explored, and their prospects may even be greater. But the risk of losing control rises accordingly. Becoming an Abomination will always be an undignified end."

At that, Emma rubbed her hands together with anticipation, slipping out of her teaching mode and asking with eager curiosity:

"I've heard that self-awakened supernatural beings all have some special ability. Maybe they can talk to the passing wind, or they have magical hair that can mend things, or they can sleep for seven days straight..."

"Since you could join the bureau directly, you must have a First Seal, right?"

Light shimmered in Emma's eyes. She leaned forward and tilted her head, pressing her hands together and rubbing them as she pleaded in an affected tone:

"Come on, there's no one else here. Tell your big sister all about it! Please?"

Emma's burning, curious gaze gave Horn a start. Coming back to himself from some unpleasant memories, he nodded helplessly and motioned for her to come closer. Closer still.

Her small ears perked up beneath her short black hair. Horn lowered his voice and, putting on a mysterious air, revealed his secret.

"Actually, my ability is making things disappear."

"Ooh, matter erasure. That's a high-level ability! How exactly do you do it?"

Facing the excited Emma, Horn took a slip of paper from his pocket and passed his hand over it. The paper vanished from his hand as if it had never existed.

"Ta-da!"

Emma keenly noticed the faint distortion in the air. Even though she'd more or less figured out how it worked, she still clapped enthusiastically, applauding Horn's impressive magic trick.

With that level of control, he could switch careers and become a magician without starving.

After exchanging a knowing look and confirming that the new guy had a sense of humor, Emma fixed the hair by her ear and pointed to the final line.

"The last one, and the way of awakening you're almost certain never to encounter, is Apostle Selection."