Chương 35: Chapter 32.1 – Join Paradise and get salvation for free

The guard pointed me deeper into the mall, so deeper I went. On the way, I unsummoned Astarielle. I needed to ask questions, not set it on fire. My heartbeat sped up on the way, sweat forming on my palms. The branch sat at the end of the concourse where the foot traffic thinned, past a shuttered phone case kiosk and a fountain nobody was tossing coins into. A plaque in the mall ahead read: Paradise. No logo, just a pair of frosted glass doors with two wings etched into them, spread wide, meeting at the tips.

The same wings from Cassandra's gacha animation, of the goddess who descended to drop me thirty commons in a row. The door opened by itself. Inside was an antechamber with white stone, pale wood, a reception desk with a single fern on it, and a young woman behind it who looked up at me with the warm, frictionless smile.

"Welcome to Paradise," she said.

"How can I help you find your way?" I gave her my best smile back. With all the stat points parked in charisma, it better be great.

"I'm looking for work," I said.

"Heard you were hiring."

"We're always growing." She said it like scripture.

"Everyone has a place in Paradise."

"That's the dream." I leaned a forearm on the counter.

"What positions do you have available? The brochure was a little light on specifics, mostly because it got chewed on by a dog."

"We have plenty of positions." Her eyes had a soft, lit-from-within quality I'd seen on the actually religious people every time mum dragged me to church.

"As we prepare the way for the rise of the Goddess, we have positions in maintenance, public relations, magitech construction, and mining. I suppose public relations would be most suited for you." Hmph. This floor didn't look like it had any mines. Or factories, either.

"I'm actually a geologist. On what floors do you have the mining positions?" She paused, scanning me with a notch colder expression.

"The ones that are recruiting are floors twenty-seven, thirty-one, and thirty-two, and thirty-eight. But, sorry to ask, but are you a climber?"

"No." I formed a sad smile.

"I wish I were, but I was born less than a couple of miles from here in the hospital. It's just that I've heard that your organization spreads across many floors, and frankly speaking, the city's become rather right for me. Especially since it isn't the most geologically interesting floor, to say the least."

"I see. I will call someone from the intake." She motioned to the side where industrial, built-in chairs awaited.

"Please, take a seat."

"That's awesome, thanks." I walked to the chairs and sat down. The door didn't open automatically even though I passed close to it. She tapped something on a keyboard hidden in the reception. Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author's preferred platform and support their work! A few minutes later, a door opened in the wall near her, and a man walked in. He wore a heavy trench coat with a suit underneath.

No visible weapons, though he had the look of a man who would carry some, with a square, hardened face, shaved temples, and a jaw that could cut diamonds. He walked straight to me, measuring me. I sat peacefully, forcefully relaxed. I even smiled as he approached. After all, I was living a job-seeker's dream. He tried to return the smile, only making a tiny, passing one.

"I am Liberation." He stopped near me, offering a handshake. Well, fuck. After half a second of frozen shock, I stood up and shook his hand.

"Damian." The name, or more like a codename, Liberation, made things connect in my mind. Peace was the opposite of war. Liberation was the opposite of conquest. Coincidence that two names from Paradise were opposites to the biblical four horsemen of the apocalypse? No, obviously not. This was Peace's equal. His handshake was firm, but not aggressive.

"Welcome to Paradise." He motioned me to sit down, and sat down himself. I sat down.

"I'm looking for a job in the mining section."

"I imagine so." He smirked.

"You've been climbing fast. It's been less than a week since I read about you in Peace's report from floor six." My heart shot to my throat. Paradise was pretty damn well organized, apparently. My smile vanished.

"I hope the stolen beacon has been serving you well."

"The magitech department has been beyond thankful for it." His turn to smile.

"Are you seeking Peace for revenge?"

"It's more than I need to talk to her." With fireballs, about Chris and Biscuit.

"Is she around?"

"I obviously cannot disclose information about a fellow operative's whereabouts." He relaxed into the seat.

"But she did mark you as a special talent. You came here asking for a job as a lie, but you could find purpose in Paradise. The Goddess can save your world, too." Now that took an interesting turn.

"Would I be able to move through the floors freely as a member of your organization?"

"As freely as we can. You climb through the new paths created by the goddess's approach. The old paths still exist, though they aren't so fast or flashy." He reached into his jacket, pulling out a pamphlet.

"Think about it." He handed it to me. I took it. He got up.

"Till next time, Damian." He walked out the same way he came. I exhaled. That was weird. I got up, and the receptionist opened the door for me, so I could exit. Outside, I leaned on the wall by the side and opened the brochure. It started with the usual sales pitch of divine salvation. The Goddess will be born and save the tower, except for three pages of detail with pictures of how awesome everything will be, and how the entire tower will become a paradise.

That they had a brochure for this strongly suggested everyone in the tower knew they were in the tower. One page caught my attention. It had the picture of the goddess framed in the center, with a text underneath:'As four suns lose light, when the grand fall turns dry, out of the vessel of true faith, with blood of the slayer, from the death of the devout, imbued with the shard of eternity, shall rise Mefista.' That didn't match the rest of the text. It sounded an awful lot like a manual.

I tore that page out, summoned Astarielle, handed it to her, and unsummoned her. This felt important. Now, I needed intel on how Paradise moved between the floors. Or any intel on how they were planning to create the goddess. Not that I believed they could succeed, but because they could cause a lot of trouble while trying. I walked through the mall, looking for a spot to hide. By the clock inside the mall and the opening hours posted, they were closing in half an hour.

I found a side maintenance room, which had the door slightly broken as it didn't close. The mall here looked almost abandoned, the shops that would have been nearby sealed. I slipped into the small room and waited. About an hour later, I gave it fifteen more minutes and walked back out. The mall now looked emptier. I moved at an unhurried, but purposeful pace. Yes, my suit didn't match the local fashion, but the suits people wore here were close enough for the differences to not be visible over distance.

And I was obviously the newly appointed manager doing manager stuff. As I made the corner, the hallway around me darkened. Great. Exactly what I needed. Shadows yanked up into the shape of a man, who bolted at me from the wall.