"Actually,"

The Lead Commander said, drawing back his attention.

"You possessing a possibility of regression is what has prevented us from choosing to get rid of you after you misused our kindness and brought an end to fellow human lives."

He said, and White paused.

"There are people out there who have done far less than what you’ve done and are now serving life imprisonments in Federal Prisons, or have been sentenced to death."

"You should be grateful that you’re still alive and even capable of walking and talking at all, White Sinclaw."

He added, and White hummed quietly.

He did understand that he had indeed gone too far back at the UEF.

Sure, Inumaki and Rukun deserved their deaths, along with Draugr.

One could argue that it hadn’t yet been ten years and therefore Draugr was still innocent, but that was a foolish argument.

Draugr becoming the Beast of Draugr wasn’t an event that happened because of White.

That meant it was doomed to happen whether he liked it or not, and when it did, thousands of lives would be lost.

Was it really a wise choice for him to stay his hand and wait for the event to truly happen before getting rid of Draugr?

To him, the answer was no.

But him killing Draugr’s friends?

Now that had nothing to do with the future.

That was White himself taking revenge for Draugr slaughtering his combat squad.

Those guys were innocent, and he might truly deserve to be killed, or at least imprisoned, for that.

There was no argument there.

"So, in the end, even though I seem so clearly deserving of death, you determined that I was better kept alive than dead, no?"

White said, snapping a finger.

A blue halo spread through the air, and a chair mysteriously appeared before him.

He dragged it over several meters away from the table before settling into it.

"Unfortunately, yes."

The blue-haired Supreme Commander replied.

"We’ve spent too many resources on you just to kill you off now. Though I’m sure it doesn’t take many brain cells to realize that we’re treating your existence as a weapon."

He added.

"You’re being kept alive because we believe you can damage our enemies."

"But once your blade sinks too deeply into us, then the only logical decision remaining will be to..."

"Get rid of the blade. I understand."

White completed.

"Good. Now, there are new changes to add. Things that must be done to balance out the damage you’ve caused us."

The Lead Supreme Commander began as White folded his hands.

"First and foremost, the promise we made to you of three requests is now void."

He began.

"We will not be giving you the opportunity for a third request."

He said, and White shrugged.

"Sounds fair enough."

He wouldn’t have either if someone had taken advantage of his kindness...twice.

"Secondly, you must join Humanity Ascension and begin taking missions, effective immediately."

He said, and White smiled as he asked:

"As a Sergeant, right?"

"Actually, no."

The blue-haired Commander replied.

"You’ll be starting as the lowest of the low... cannon fodder."

He said, watching in satisfaction as White’s expression plummeted.

"And not just any cannon fodder. You’ll be cannon fodder for special missions, like venturing into newly discovered ruins or accompanying Cosmic Rank experts and being the first face to the danger."

He added, and White paused for a second to think about it before slowly nodding.

"That’s actually not a bad idea."

"We hope you still hold that same thought after your first mission."

Another Commander said, suppressing his evil laughter behind a grin.

"So, no more requests, and I’m cannon fodder for difficult missions."

White concluded, rising to his feet.

"Got it."

"When is my first mission again?"

He asked as he slowly walked away from the table.

"Your first mission actually begins in twenty minutes."

The Lead Commander said, and White paused.

"Huh?"

He turned back and noticed the other Supreme Commanders were also looking at the lead figure with quiet shock in their eyes.

It seemed whatever this was... had never been planned.

"Though, as cannon fodder, you normally wouldn’t be given the specifics."

He began.

"But there’s an annoying association we have that’s currently working on an experiment that goes against the boundaries Humanity Ascension has established."

"I think we’ve sat on our hands long enough and allowed their nonsense to continue. They clearly don’t know when to stop."

"So we’re sending in an elite group of Cosmics to bring down the facility. You’ll be joining them."

He said, and White’s face slowly split into a grin.

"Nice."

"...to carry their bags, of course."

The Lead Commander added, and White’s smile froze.

"What?"

"You’re cannon fodder, remember? On this mission, you’ll be their lackey. Help carry their bags and weapons."

"Now shoo off. You’ve already caused enough disruption to an important meeting."

He said, waving White away.

White clicked his tongue, but then,

GRUUUUM!

A growl echoed through the room as White turned to his stomach.

"There’s a cafeteria around here somewhere, right?"

He asked as a blue halo surrounded him, the space around him dilating.

"There is, though it’s up to you to find it. Get back in ten minutes."

He added.

In the next moment, a blue flicker of light flashed, and White disappeared into thin air.

_________

The revolving glass doors opened as men and women, all dressed in the golden uniforms of Humanity Ascension, stepped in.

It was a massive hall with tables and seats spread across the area, where soldiers could be seen with various dishes before them.

At one corner of the hall, a dark, horned figure sat alone, bowls of food piled high across a table that was actually five normal tables pushed together, with only him at one end, as he dug in.

It caught the attention of several Humanity Ascension officers, who couldn’t help but stare at him like he was some kind of monster.

But then their eyes trailed upward to the horns.

Well...

He is a monster.