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C324 - Affection

Many elements could lead to cloaking spells, and their strength changed according to the situation. The darkness and shadow elements were more powerful at night since the environment favored them, but mana with features connected to light or colors worked better during the day.

The report sent by the Global Army described a wide array of spells, and only a few of them shared the same weaknesses. A universal method capable of countering all of them didn't exist, but Khan didn't let the matter go.

The network struggled to reach those areas, but the building helped the phones connect to it. Khan could browse the various menus to find specific answers, but his search didn't lead anywhere. He ended up purchasing a new training method for his senses, but that was it.

The book would arrive directly to the camp, so Khan found himself with nothing to do. He meditated and enjoyed Cora's company for a while, but other pressing matters eventually forced him out of his room.

Khan didn't sleep, but another night had to pass before the investigation resumed, so he didn't mind leaving Cora on the bed to reach his students.

Amber, Ethan, Elsie, John, Dwight, and Ashley had gathered in the main corridor of the first floor to have their lunch. Cameron and his underlings had brought a few tables and chairs to improve the area, but the food remained quite bad, at least for soldiers used to the camp's canteen.

Of course, Khan's arrival attracted everyone's attention. He had donned a clean military uniform, but the bandages on his cheeks were enough to confirm that he had gone through a tough battle the previous night.

"Professor Khan," Elsie called in a pleading voice after the students performed a polite salute.

"I won't leave you behind tomorrow," Khan exclaimed before Elsie could voice that question. "All of us will be there, and I believe Cameron is already preparing more troops."

"That's right," Ethan revealed. "We can't miss this chance. The directions you retrieved are vague, but we plan to put out everything we have."

Khan could only nod. Another covert mission probably was the best approach, but the Global Army couldn't risk wasting those clues. Even if the investigation led to inferior results, the soldiers had to go all-out to come back with something.

The nature of the Slums was forcing the Global Army's hand. Finding clues was hard, especially since it was almost impossible to keep an ongoing investigation hidden. Khan's group had already run out of options, so a relatively massive expedition seemed necessary.

"We will have to be quick," Khan announced while approaching the empty seat next to Amber. "I can see a secret lab with self-destruct mechanisms. It would only make sense."

"Our priority is to retrieve clues," Ethan explained. "The lab and its tools aren't important. We need to uncover which families are behind its very creation."

Khan understood that point, so he nodded again. The conversation was over, but he found himself unable to focus on the food on the table.

Ethan had retrieved his haughty mood after spending a day in the habitation, but he still struggled to look at Khan in the eyes. Meanwhile, the four students couldn't keep their gazes away from Khan since they hoped to receive some last-minute lessons.

As for Amber, she wanted to look pissed, but her worry appeared whenever she inspected Khan's injuries. He felt forced to whisper a faint "I'm fine" to reassure her at some point, and the situation improved afterward.

The two couldn't go back to their usual jokes since a faint tension filled the group. The sole fact that Khan had suffered injuries proved that the imminent attack could be dangerous.

Moreover, Amber and the students had never seen someone injured in a mission. Khan's current state was a turning point in their minds. The five could finally realize that they were outside the safety of the training camp.

The day went on quickly. No one was really busy, but everyone preferred to review their state and make sure to be at their peak the following morning.

Khan didn't need preparations, but his students required some attention. He had a long conversation with them to explain the tactic to deploy during the attack. They weren't even first-level warriors, so they could approach the frontlines only if Khan, Amber, Grant, or Ethan were with them.

Khan wanted to fool around with Cora or tease Amber after handling the students, but both women forced him to meditate for the rest of the day. Most of his injuries weren't severe, but Amber and Cora remained firm on their stance.

Of course, when the night arrived, Cora's stance crumbled. She and Khan shared intimate hours in their room that swept away any trace of tension still lingering in her mind.

A few minutes before dawn, Khan and the others gathered outside their habitation to wait for the arrival of Cameron's forces. No one spoke, and the tension of the previous day returned stronger than ever. Still, they could at least rejoice about their appearance.

The investigation group was wearing appropriate military uniforms. Their weapons and stars were in the open, and their sole sight was more than enough to scare away any citizens who didn't know about the presence of that official building.

Cameron's forces didn't take long to arrive, and the event reassured even the most worried and tense in Khan's group. The platoon was thirty men strong, and two tall, two-legged robots equipped with long rifles accompanied it.

Those more knowledgeable in the difference between the various levels could see that platoon's power wasn't actually great. Khan didn't even like the idea of bringing so many soldiers who had yet to become first-level warriors.

A smaller group of stronger soldiers would have worked better for the attack, but the platoon's tasks didn't only involve the possible battle. If a lab truly existed, those troops would have to create a perimeter and evacuate the area to prevent the worst possible outcome.

The march began immediately. Khan's group and Cameron's platoon had already come up with a battle formation. Grant, Ethan, and Amber would be in the lead due to their superior level, while the others would follow closely behind. As for the two robots, they would cover the backlines and intervene if the situation required it.

Cameron's platoon had only a handful of first-level warriors, so Khan's group remained united. The march was more than a simple walk across the dirty streets. The soldiers almost jogged as they followed the mysterious man's directions. Soon, they went past the areas recorded during the last inspection, but nothing peculiar appeared on their path.

The soldiers didn't know what they were looking for. They only had directions, but sticking to them became troublesome after the march stretched for a few hours. Being unaware of the exact location of their destination made them feel lost and annoyed.

Khan was the calmer in the group. None of his companions shared his experience, but he still felt worried. The mysterious man might have lied, and Khan would be to blame for that useless march.

Khan obviously didn't believe that a failed march could create problems in his career, but he liked his untouchable state. Seizing another success would only improve his figure. Finding actual proof about a secret organization might make him enter an important environment even if his level wouldn't normally allow that.

The hours of the march went from three to six. Many soldiers from Cameron's platoon had long since begun to express their dissatisfaction, but the presence of specialists from the city forced them to keep their voices down.

Those many murmurs inevitably reached the soldiers leading the group. Ethan had also started to have his doubts about the indication, but he retained a stoic expression. Meanwhile, Grant moved his eyes between the street and the device in his hands. He frowned from time to time, but nothing alarming appeared on the sensor.

Some soldiers began to feel pretty exhausted by the eighth hour of continuous march. Their bodies were approaching their limits, and the students felt ashamed to be in that situation. Their endurance was slightly better than Cameron's underlings, but it remained quite humane.

Still, the ninth hour brought a change. The Slums' streets had always been empty since the group's uniforms scared the citizen, but nothing too odd had happened. Yet, the appearance of a trail of black smoke in the distance rekindled the soldiers' hopes.

The smoke was outside the range of Khan's senses, but its appearance made the group hurry toward its source anyway. The fast-paced march became a proper sprint that forced some weaker soldiers to remain behind with the robots since they couldn't keep up.

Khan, Amber, Grant, and Ethan separated from the main group since they were faster. A massive and distinct surge of mana eventually entered the range of Khan's senses and Grant's scanner. The two immediately confirmed that the phenomenon was far from natural, which made them hurry even more.

Citizens finally began to appear on the streets, but the four soldiers experienced no pleasure in that scene. Terrified men, women, and children ran as fast as they could to escape from the areas around the trail of smoke. Their screams filled the Slums, and their fears made them disregard the soldiers they met.

Khan instinctively wielded his peculiar second-grade knife, and the two specialists also began to move their mana to prepare for a potential battle. The smoke was still too distant to evaluate the threat properly, but they didn't dare to approach it carelessly.

Then, a few inhuman cries resounded in the area and fused with the scared screams of the citizens. Khan only had to advance a bit further to sense multiple influences affecting the mana inside the smoke.

His experience on many battlefields allowed him to reach a conclusion in an instant. Khan didn't hesitate to launch a warning that intensified the general panic. "Tainted animals!"

The four exchanged glances, but three pairs of eyes eventually fell on Amber. Someone had to warn the troops behind about the imminent danger, and she was the most suited for the task.

"Don't do anything reckless," Amber stated before turning to run toward the rest of the troops.

"We need to assess the area involved in the event!" Grant exclaimed as the three continued to sprint forward.

"We need to take care of the Tainted animals first," Khan declared as he interrupted the sprint.

The torrent of smoke appeared immense now that the trio was about to approach it. Its source seemed to be as vast as a few buildings, and the creatures inside it affected the mana that flowed into the environment.

Khan couldn't sense the creatures clearly, but their influence on the mana told him that they were charging in different directions. The soldiers had to establish a large perimeter to contain those rogue Tainted animals.

Ethan and Grant also stopped running, and their eyes widened in surprise when they looked at the scanner. They saw what Khan was sensing, and the scene terrified them.

The issue wasn't with the power of the Tainted creatures. The two specialists were second-level warriors, so those beasts couldn't pose a threat to them. Yet, the sheer number of animals released in the area was astonishing and worrying. The sensor in Grant's hands evaluated that there had to be at least twenty of them charging toward different directions.

"We must establish the perimeter now!" Grant shouted as he turned to look at the incoming soldiers. "Hurry up! Divide yourselves into four groups. We must run around the smoke!"

"Our priority is to find clues," Ethan reminded while suppressing his voice.

"What clues?" Grant exclaimed while pointing at the giant trail of smoke. "Everything is in pieces or will turn into dust in the next minutes. How are we supposed to retrieve something among that mess and Tainted animals?"

"We must try," Ethan declared. "Fuck the perimeter. Let's send everyone in."

"The density of synthetic mana in the air is already too high," Grant complained. "We risk experiencing the gravest infection since the Second Impact if we don't focus on evacuating the area and killing the rogue Tainted animals."

"Who cares?!" Ethan shouted. "Remember where we are. Let those lazy asses from the barracks handle this mess. We must remain on our target."

"I'm telling you that it's impossible!" Grant continued. "There won't be anything left by the time we manage to make our way through the smoke."

Part of Cameron's platoon arrived during that discussion. Amber, Cora, the four students, and the first-level warriors in the group could hear the topic of the argument, but the matter sounded hopeless.

The smoke was too thick, and the presence of Tainted animals made everything more dangerous. Escaping those threats was already challenging. Retrieving something from that mess didn't sound doable at all.

"I can go in," Khan eventually stated. "The smoke won't be a problem for me."

Ethan didn't want to leave that important task in Khan's hands. The latter had proven himself to be resourceful and strong, and their arrival to the smoke was also something to add to his feats. However, the Global Army had sent the specialists for that specific job. Relegating it to someone weaker than them would be improper and demeaning.

"Can you really do it?" Grant asked without worrying about eventual political repercussions.

"I can move relatively safely inside the smoke," Khan revealed, "But I don't know if I'll find clues. I can't sense them unless they have mana."

The two specialists didn't have the time to think about the suggestion since a series of figures began to leave the smoke and charge toward their group. Four Tainted animals shot forward and voiced loud cries at the sight of the soldiers.

The four creatures were nothing special. Khan saw a slightly tall wolf, a pig covered in scales, a winged mouse that didn't seem able to use those body parts, and a white monkey. Those animals were far from strong, but their azure eyes and the energy they released confirmed the presence of mana inside them.

"Prepare for battle!" Cameron shouted, and his underlings began to accumulate mana.

"Stay back," Khan ordered as he joined his palms without letting go of his knife.

Red-purple mana came out of Khan's hands and took the form of a long spear as he separated them. The Chaos spear could accumulate far more energy, but he didn't need much to take care of those four creatures.

Everyone on the scene watched in awe as Khan threw the spell toward the four Tainted animals. The spear hit the ground in front of the scaled pig before unleashing its destructive power. A short pillar appeared on the scene, and the creatures ended up caught in its might.

Not much remained of the Tainted animals after the pillar dispersed. The monkey and the mouse weren't near the center of the explosion, but the attack touched them anyway, and entire chunks of their bodies disappeared.

The mouse died due to the severe injuries in an instant, while the monkey managed to remain alive even if half of its body had lost its skin. Its flesh and a few organs were in the open, but the beast still charged forward.

"Remember to be confident in your abilities," Khan declared as he walked toward the monkey. "Don't underestimate your opponent, but don't let it scare you either. Also, don't hesitate when it comes to delivering the finishing blow."

Those words were for the four students, and they noted down everything as they kept their eyes on Khan. He didn't appear ready to fight, but he suddenly accelerated when the monkey became too close.

The students remained in awe when they saw Khan reappearing behind the monkey. A long cut then opened on the creature's head and neck before splitting those body parts into two halves.

Khan remained silent for a second as he kept track of the mana that left the monkey's body and mixed with the environment. He had returned to the battlefield, and he felt at peace there.

Khan's calm inspired the students and gave birth to deep respect in the weak soldiers' minds. Amber, Grant, and Ethan also acknowledged Khan's strength once again after witnessing how natural he appeared among that mess.

Only Cora noticed the deeper meaning in Khan's expression. He wasn't merely used to the battlefield. He felt something toward it. That emotion almost seemed affection.

Grant and Ethan exchanged a glance. Time was running out. The longer they hesitated, the farther the other Tainted animals would go. They had to make a decision quickly, and Khan looked like the perfect man for the job.

Eventually, Grant and Ethan nodded at each other before performing the same gesture toward Khan. Other words were pointless. They would take care of containing the Tainted animals and leave the insides of the smoke to him.

Khan couldn't waste time in goodbyes or reassuring words. He winked at Cora and turned to face the smoke without waiting for answers. Everything disappeared from his mind at that point, and the symphony of the mana filled his thoughts.

'I can do it with this density,' Khan thought as he sprinted forward.

Waves of mana enveloped Khan as he approached the smoke. His figure was immersed in currents filled with power, but his gaze was on the dark gas right in front of him.

Khan performed a long leap, and his figure partially disappeared among the smoke. Yet, his companions saw how he didn't descend.. Instead, Khan kept rising as if he was climbing a staircase.

To be continued