Meanwhile, at the same time, inside the defense and military headquarters, a group was gathered in a dark meeting room. Two generals, a man in a black suit, three researchers, and a woman who appeared to be a secretary sat beside a middle-aged man in a suit. Before them, a zoomed-in satellite feed played, showing a grey comet taking down three cyclops in an instant, without so much as a blink.
The footage continued until the grey comet—which turned out to be a man—was seen sitting cross-legged as if lost in thought, propping up his face with his hand while perched atop the carcass of a cyclops he had just gutted. Upon realizing soldiers were watching him, the man bolted, and the recording cut to black.
The lights were switched on, though the screen still displayed the image of the man sitting atop the fallen monster. The room fell silent; no one could look away from the strangely dressed man who had swatted away the cyclops as easily as stepping on ants. The middle-aged man in the black suit turned toward the two high-ranking generals sitting across from him.
"General Alvares, General Thompson—do you know who this man is?" he asked.
"We don't, Prime Minister George Maximillian. We are still investigating, but we're certain he isn't one of ours," Alvares replied.
"According to my lieutenant on the scene, the man appeared to be about 6 feet 3 inches at a glance. His face was hard to make out because he was wearing sunglasses, but he had black hair. None of my personnel match that description," Thompson added.
"I see... Is this man a product of the super-serum project developed in our labs—the one meant to max out human DNA potential to fight these monsters, Dr. Harris?" George asked, looking at the lead scientist.
"No, Prime Minister. We have never developed abilities like that in the lab. The serum we're currently designing is only meant to peak physical strength by drawing out the full potential within the human body and maximizing that potential for combat... it's not a magical ability that can be learned based on skill or a superpower like that. In fact, we've become quite curious ourselves; we want to study who he really is and where his power originates," Harris answered.
They fell silent again, lost in thought. George looked grim, his fingers drumming rhythmically on the table. Before anyone could speak, the screen flickered, and a digital face appeared followed by a dialog box:
"Facial and Body Analysis Result: Failed."
"Hmm... even the AI can't detect him, and yet every citizen in this city is registered in the system. In that case, find him. We need to talk to him—at the very least, we need to know if he's on our side," George said, looking around the room.
"Understood, Prime Minister," the attendees replied.
"There's one more thing that's troubling, Prime Minister," Alvares interjected.
"What's that?" George asked.
Alvares pressed a button on his remote, and the screen changed to show two blurry figures in separate frames. One looked like a Grim Reaper with a hidden face under a hood, sporting black and white wings while in flight. The frame next to it showed a white werewolf leaping and sprinting across rooftops with such speed that the image was nothing but a blur.
"Oh... the two monsters that have been roaming the city for the past month. Most of the victims have been women," the woman beside George remarked.
"You know about this, Janet?" George asked, turning to his secretary.
"I do, sir. My friend's sister was a victim. She was found by the river in a horrific state after being kidnapped in broad daylight right from her own home," Janet answered.
George turned back to the screen, his face hardening. His brow furrowed as he stared at the two indistinct figures—beings that looked like monsters, yet seemed like something else entirely.
***
Late in the afternoon as evening approached, Rex, Rose, and Ruby returned to the resort after their time at the beach to get ready for dinner at the resort's restaurant. Once they were seated, they began browsing the menu while a waiter stood faithfully by, ready to answer any questions. When Ruby saw the list of dishes and their prices, her expression shifted. She glanced at Rose and Rex, who both seemed perfectly calm and unbothered by the costs. She leaned in toward Rose.
"Hey... Rose, you're covering for me, right?" Ruby whispered.
"Huh... in your dreams. Everyone pays for themselves, that's usually how Rex wants it," Rose replied.
"Yeah, I know... but I'm a little short on cash right now," Ruby whispered, trying to be persuasive.
"Ha... no use trying to charm me, it's not working," Rose replied, feeling smug.
"Look at this... thirty gallars just for garlic bread? Are you kidding me... that's a rip-off," Ruby whispered, showing the menu to Rose.
"Just be quiet. If you don't have the money, don't eat," Rose snapped.
"Enough... don't argue. Just order, I'm paying."
Rose and Ruby immediately snapped their heads toward Rex, who had just dropped that breaking news as if he were announcing an incoming tsunami. They both stared at him, their faces clearly showing they didn't believe what they had just heard. Meanwhile, Rex remained perfectly casual, pointing at the menu and listening to the waiter's explanations.
"Um... Rex, you're actually paying?" Ruby asked, curious.
"Yeah... are you... feeling okay?" Rose asked in disbelief.
"What is with you two? Didn't we just get married? Just think of this as a celebration. As your husband, I'm supposed to provide for you, right? Just don't go too crazy with the spending because I'm not exactly a billionaire," Rex answered casually, his eyes never leaving the menu.
"Thwack." It was as if an arrow had pierced Rose and Ruby's chests, or perhaps they were having mild heart attacks. Their faces went blank and it was clear their minds had suddenly gone empty. Their mouths hung open as if the bolts in their jaws had come loose, their eyes widened, their hearts raced, and their cheeks turned bright red.
Finally, they both moved, dragging their chairs to flank Rex, even though they had been sitting across from him just a moment before. Rex was startled; he looked at Rose next to him, who immediately clung to his arm with a massive grin, then turned to Ruby, who was intentionally squeezing his other arm against her chest with a look of pure joy. Rex could practically see heart emojis in their eyes.
"Hey... what are you guys doing?" Rex asked, shocked.
The waitress standing by the table did nothing but smile, politely covering her mouth with her fingertips.
"I love you, hubby," Rose said, hugging his arm.
"I'm yours forever," Ruby added, clinging to him.
"Alright, alright... come on, order your food. I feel bad for the lady waiting on us, and you guys moving over here made everything cramped," Rex protested, though he wasn't actually angry—he was happy, even if his face remained expressionless.
Eventually, they placed their orders but stayed right where they were, still clinging to him. It was obvious Rose and Ruby had no intention of moving back to their original seats. Seeing them look so happy, a faint smile played on Rex's lips without him even realizing it. Then, he paused as a thought crossed his mind.
"Hmm... honestly, I still have those gold coins from Arendel in my dimensional storage... but I wonder if I can actually exchange them for global dollars (gallars). At the very least, I could probably melt the coins down and sell them as gold bars... yeah, that's the play. I guess I need to start thinking about the future from now on," Rex said in his heart.
Meanwhile, inside the heads of the two girls hugging his arms, "I love him... I love him... I love him... I love him so much... I'll do anything for him," they both said in their own minds, completely unaware that they were perfectly in sync.