Chapter 4: The Strongest

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As the days go by, the practical exam draws nearer. Kitayuu and his group train after every school day. He did not know how to feel as it was difficult to tell whether he was making any progress or not but him and his friends would walk to class every morning tired and worn out from the previous day due to all of the extra training. Shortly after being seated, a mysterious figure enters the room. He was covered head to toe, including his entire face with what seemed like armor. Diluc stands immediately and greets him. "Why does he look worried all of a sudden?" Kitayuu whispers to Bennet. The mysterious man looks at Kitayuu and looks back at Diluc. "Saturo requests to see the student named Kai Kitayuu." Kitayuu is surprised with the sudden statement. Diluc looking worried replies, "F-for what reason may I ask?" The man stands there for a moment. The room is filled with a lot of anxiety. "That's way out of your paycheck." Diluc being worried then turns to Kitayuu. "You are dismissed." Kitayuu stands up and follows the mysterious man out the door.

Bennet, being worried, asks Diluc about the mysterious man. Diluc responds after a moment. "It's a soldier from the Futui, the military group working in the citadel. I'm just worried about the fact that Saturo wants to see him..." Kitayuu slowly walks behind the Fatui soldier. The citadel was around 3 miles away from the academy. As they approached a large wall around 40 meters tall and 6 meters thick surrounded the massive building. There were soldiers everywhere patrolling the area. What followed was a long spiral staircase that surrounded the inside of the citadel. By the time they both reached the top, Kitayuu's calves were burning. At the very top was an office with many bookshelves filled with hundreds of thousands of documents. At the very center was a round table with a big glass dome on top. Further back was a desk and chair facing the wall with someone sitting on it. "As you have requested, sir," says the soldier. He walks back down.

The man in the chair says with a very intimidating tone, "It's nice to finally meet you, Kitayuu

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The man in the chair says with a very intimidating tone, "It's nice to finally meet you, Kitayuu." Kitayuu doesn't say a word. "Come closer." Kitayuu slowly walks towards the chair. "Would you like a cup of tea?" After another minute, Kitayuu finally decides to speak."Uhm- No thanks," another minute of silence followed. The man in the chair replied, "Are you aware of who I am?" Kitayuu tried remembering what the Fatui soldier told Diluc earlier. "You are Saturo aren't -" Suddenly, Kitayuu felt a sudden presence of power coming from the man. "Well, yes, you are right since that is my name, but do you know anything about me?" The power that Kitayuu was sensing was climbing even higher. It was as if it had no end. He shakes in fear. "Y-you are the s-strongest." Saturo still sitting in the chair with his back facing Kitayuu smiles. "Aha, so it seems you have finally come to realise... Anyways I didn't request for you to be here for no reason." Kitayuu nervously waits for what's about to come next. "I wanted to give you an offer since you have so much potential. Why don't you join me here in the Fatui." Kitayuu did not know how to reply to this question. "But why me?" He asks. Saturo chuckles "Well with power like yours, you'd be a valuable asset to us. Outside of the academy, you are seen as a monster. Due to the lack of control you have over your power, many villages have been damaged." Kitayuu nods with guilt as Saturo continues. "It's not often that you come by to an offer as lucrative as this one." Kitayuu looked down clouded with many thoughts. What exactly did Saturo want with him, and was there a catch. He also didn't want to leave his friends in the academy behind. He had finally found people that accepted him for who he was, but now, with this offer, he would have to give that up. "I'm sorry," he says nervously. "I'll have to decline that offer. Besides, I don't feel prepared to take on what's coming if I do become a Fatui." Saturo waits for a moment and finally says "Alright if that's what you want. A soldier will escort you back."

After returning back, Kitayuu let out a sigh of relief. When he looked out, he saw everyone outside training. Diluc noticed him and immediately walked up towards him. "I need a word with you," he says in a very stern voice. "What exactly did Saturo want?" Kitayuu thought for a moment before deciding to tell the full story. Diluc was left confused. "Join the Fatui? He wants you to become a harbinger, the highest rank, but why?"I have no idea," Kitayuu replies. "Listen... be careful. Saturo has a very short temper and power that rivals the seven combined." Kitayuu looked astonished. He knew that he was powerful but didn't expect him to be able to compete with all 7 archons at once. "Him and the seven aren't very fond of each other, and we tutors of the academy also don't see eye to eye with him either, but the Fatui are a powerful force. They are basically the only thing protecting us from the abyss order." Kitayuu looked at Diluc with confusion, "Abyss Order?" Diluc nods."Not much is known about the Abyss Order, but they have one goal in mind being to wipe out humanity." As Diluc looks at his watch and sees his students outside, he turns back to Kitayuu. "You may take the rest of the day off." As Kitayuu watched Diluc walking off, he only had one thing in mind."What is the main goal of the Fatui, and was Saturo really that powerful?"

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