Nick looked at the person kneeling in front of him.
It had been a couple of months since Greed had been contained, but Nick now had a new duty.
This duty was related to the person kneeling in front of him right now.
Or, more specifically, the person was not kneeling in front of him but in front of the Champion, who stood behind Nick.
Since the Juggernaut couldn't continue serving as the Right Arm for obvious reasons, a new Right Arm had to be appointed.
So, who would be the new Right Arm?
The obvious candidate was the Wall.
The Wall was one of the few remaining Shields from before Nick had arrived.
Within the 183 years Nick had been alive, five Shields had been replaced, with one position even being replaced twice.
Over half of the Shields Nick had learned about when he had joined Aegis had died.
The old Champion died.
The Right Arm died.
The Left Arm died.
The Knife died.
The Juggernaut was outed as a Specter.
That only left the Technician, the Politician, and the Wall as the "original" Shields.
A lot had happened ever since Nick joined Aegis.
The Technician and the Politician were both still relatively young.
Before Nick joined, the Politician had been the newest Shield, while the Technician had been the second newest.
Meanwhile, the Wall had been there for a long time already.
Within the next 500 years, he would die of old age.
He had seen many things in his life, and he had fought the Trio and Corruptors for over a thousand years now.
Naturally, he was the obvious pick for the new Right Arm.
However, he declined.
The Wall said that he wasn't interested in leading people and that he wasn't good at it.
He was a soldier at heart.
He was someone who helped people and defended them, as evidenced by the path he chose.
All of him focused on protecting things with his body.
He wasn't someone who was good at commanding people since he liked to do everything himself.
The Right Arm was the public face of the Champion.
The Right Arm needed to appear in cities from time to time and remind the people of Aegis' power.
He was the primary reason why so many people still believed in the Champion's power.
If the people stopped believing, the Champion would grow weaker.
Additionally, the Right Arm commanded half of the Protectors and half of the Agents.
It was a lot of administrative work, and the Wall was not cut out for that kind of work.
So, if the Wall declined, who would take the mantle of Right Arm?
Just like the Wall, the Technician was not interested in prancing around the world or giving speeches.
He wanted to research, and he was much more useful as a researcher.
The Politician was already the Left Arm.
That left the two new Shields.
The Inferno was too hotheaded. He had even exploded on the Champion and accused him publicly of colluding with the Sun.
Such a hothead was not a good fit for the position of Right Arm.
That left the Icestorm.
She was definitely intelligent enough to lead many people.
In terms of skills, she was the perfect fit.
But there was an issue.
Her image.
She radiated a cold and commanding aura, similar to the old Left Arm.
People followed her commands, but that was because they feared her.
She was threatening.
She was an effective and good leader, but the Right Arm was supposed to inspire people, not intimidate them.
The people were supposed to venerate the Champion, not cower in front of him in fear.
Sadly, this meant that she couldn't become the Right Arm.
If the Politician died, she would be the obvious successor of the Left Arm.
All of the current Shields couldn't assume the mantle of the Right Arm, which meant that the Right Arm had to come from one of the Peak Protectors.
In the end, one person was chosen, and it was an odd one.
This required a bit of change in image for the position of the Right Arm, but it could work out.
The person kneeling in front of Nick was a thin man with pure white hair.
On his face was a warm and radiant smile.
He had the aura of somebody who made people inherently trust him.
He seemed kind, intelligent, and helpful.
His name was Leonard Spark, and he chose his last name because he wanted to be the spark of hope for the people around him.
In the beginning, his Manufacturer made him into a supporting Extractor to save costs.
Leonard's job had been to alleviate the physical and mental stress of the other Extractors.
If the Extractors felt better, they were less likely to switch and would be willing to work more hours.
Leonard had received the ability to soothe physical injuries, and he had to learn how to soothe mental worries as well.
The Manufacturer became pretty big in the city, and eventually, Leonard joined Aegis.
He had worked with stressed and difficult Agents who couldn't handle the constant pressure.
By now, Leonard had advanced to a point where he could refill other Extractors' Zephyx at the cost of his own, and he also had an ability that bestowed confidence and calm in people.
Leonard was not like the old Right Arm, who seemed like a mighty and powerful paragon that fought the evil Specters.
Instead, Leonard almost seemed like a peaceful helper.
This would be very different, but this could inspire people even more.
Aegis decided to try it.
But before Leonard could take on the mantle of Right Arm, he needed to undergo Nick's evaluation.
As Nick put his needle into Leonard's neck, Leonard barely reacted.
Nick infused him with Specter Zephyx, but the only reaction Nick got was a bitter smile from Leonard.
Nick could feel the tremendous suffering radiating from Leonard, but Leonard didn't show any outward signs of the suffering he felt deep inside.
At most, he looked like someone who was lamenting over something.
"He's clean," Nick said.
The Champion rose from his throne.
"Then, Leonard Spark.You now bear the title of Right Arm."
Leonard rose and politely bowed to the Champion.
"Thank you, Champion."