21 Searching the beast

Rain was falling heavily on New Alexandria. The water fell over the buildings and the people walking down the streets, soaking them through instantly. It seemed to fall like a storm within the city that no one could escape.

The water trickled down from the windows of a majestic building known as the Koma in the middle of the western district.

It ran along the marble flooring into pools that formed on the sides of the walls and disappeared into the drainage system.

Multiple cars arrived in front of the building in a column until they stopped when a particular blue car arrived in front of its main entrance.

Countless men jumped off the vehicles and made a small corridor from the blue car to the entrance. They all wore dark suits with red ties, their faces hidden behind masks or visors for protection against the weather outside.

A single man emerged from a car: he had a tall stature and red hair tied up at his neckline while wearing sunglasses, a bizarre sight given the bad weather.

He walked forward slowly, followed by two bodyguards who stood close to him without showing any tint of emotion and without concern about getting wet by the rain. His face showed indifference toward anyone around him, not even his guards.

He walked forward without making any sound at all. When he finally approached the door, a man with a humble attitude opened it to let him enter.

With her hair tied back, a woman dressed in military attire came rushing before the man. She put both hands together and bowed deeply, leaving the other person unimpressed.

"General Becker," said the young woman with respect in her voice.

The man looked at the woman but didn't say anything. He didn't have to as he was Frant's leader, General Armand Becker.

This man was a powerful individual for many reasons. Not only he had a mighty brain crystal power in the Aη2A rank that allowed him to control air, but he was also the leader of a whole nation. His power was vast enough to make others fear his presence.

The man then went forward with a slow stride. He entered an elevator and went to the tenth floor, a giant meeting room where he usually met with other influential people to discuss national security matters. This day too, he came for that exact reason.

Once the silent elevator brought him there and the door opened, he saw multiple people waiting for him inside.

Some sat on chairs arranged around the table, while some stood in a line in front of it. One man alone stood near the window wall, looking over the view of the city below. The man turned slightly to look at the General approaching the table.

Multiple important people were in that room: Zayan Calvert, New Alexandria's mayor, and Colonel Stephan Middleton, tasked to manage the city's defenses—Leslie Sparks, the Ministry of War, and Jena Rose, the Ministry of Defense.

Becker organized this meeting to discuss the war and the thaid situation in the north, which was becoming increasingly difficult. If things continued like that, New Alexandria would face a massive crisis.

"Good morning, sir," the other said as soon as he entered the room. Becker saluted before sitting at the table.

"I want updates regarding the war," he said, dismissively looking at the others.

Minister Spark nodded in response and smiled politely.

"We've been informed that the first army has fallen to the Hininan forces," she said calmly.

"That means we are losing ground?" asked Zayan.

Minister Spark nodded. "It does mean that, yes. But don't worry. We still hold our positions well, despite the losses. That being said, Hin isn't going to be able to fight this war alone anymore."

"What do you need to defeat them?" the General asked.

Minister Spark then replied, "More troops. Our current numbers aren't sufficient. There is another issue, though, I'm afraid."

So far, the enemy hasn't attacked any of our cities, but they will eventually try. And if that happens, we will be forced to call our troops back."

Becker stared at the minister for several moments after hearing those words. Finally, he sighed heavily and shook his head. Then he faced the minister and said, "I want you to prepare the best defenses and send more troops to the Hinian shores."

"It will be done," the minister of war replied.

"OK, now. Any news regarding the recent thaids' behavior near New Alexandria? I got a report stating that a group of Densoph and a Yevyagit attacked one of the barrier's gates. Why did no one figure it out before it happened?"

Colonel Middleton answered immediately. "According to the reports, some particularly powerful Thaid must be driving the weaker ones west. It doesn't often happen, but there have been cases in the past."

"Why did you do nothing to stop and prevent this?" Becker asked.

"Because we couldn't find the source of the mass migration. We need more than small squads for this task since the city's forests are full of thaids," the minister of defense, Jena Rose, said.

"So what kind of strategy should we use against these beasts?" asked the mayor. "Should we stay here and defend the city or attack them?"

"Both," replied Minister Rose. "Our main priority right now is keeping the thaid threat away from the citizens. So, we can't stop supplying troops to the city's defenses. At the same time, it would be good to send a platoon to search for the source of the disturbance."

"If the beast causing their migration could be found quickly, it might help us figure out how to deal with the problem," the Colonel added.

"How long do you think it'll take?" asked Zayan.

Jena raised her hand and replied, "About a week to get a good squad ready. But the mission's outcome depends on them. So to find the beast, a minimum of three weeks are required."

"And what about the thaid that entered the city?" Mayor Zayan asked.

"We sent some teams to search for it; they departed yesterday but have found nothing until now." Colonel Middleton responded.

Everyone glanced at each other silently. No one knew anything except that a thaid had recently entered New Alexandria. They all hoped that whatever the creature was doing in the city didn't cause much harm.

"All right. But first things first. Send a platoon to search for the cause of the migration as soon as possible. Am I clear?" General Becker said.

"Yes, sir!" All the attendees agreed. They all knew that this wasn't an easy thing to accomplish. Especially when dealing with thaids, and the meeting ended shortly after.

***

Roma and four other people were still searching for the creature that escaped inside the city. Luckily, there had been no reports of accidents in the surroundings, but this also meant that searching for the creature was bound to be more complicated than expected.

"Is everything set?" Roma asked. She stood beside a gray flying car parked nearby as the group had to stop and search for the creature's tracks. The vehicle was equipped with two guns mounted over the roof.

One gun was pointing forward while the other pointed backward. Each weapon fired a laser capable of cutting through almost any material. If necessary, the lasers could even pierce thick steel plates.

"Yep! Ready whenever you are," replied Private McBride. He opened the door of the vehicle and hopped in.

A few seconds later, the rest followed suit: Private Rennie climbed in through the driver's side; Private Smith took up position behind him while Private Williams sat beside the sergeant.

The sun was already high above the horizon. The group searched the whole night but failed to find the monster. Roma followed the Thaid's traces, leading toward the north of the city, meaning the beast was directed toward some farms.

The problem was that it wasn't simple since there were also wild animals and cattle traces everywhere; some were similar to the Densoph, and it wasn't easy tracking the Thaid. They had a general direction, but the monster could have always changed direction.

"Luckily, this creature didn't go toward the city center," Roma said. The last thing they needed was a thaid running around the streets.

"Are the tracks still leading North?" Roma asked Private Williams.

"Yes, sir!" Private Williams replied.

The group then continued their search by following the trails the beast left. They lost it several times and found them again, in that sprawling vegetation was more complex than initially assumed. As the day progressed, they encountered several dead animals along the way.

Most of the victims were cattle that the farmers left roaming around. They all showed signs of Densoph bites. The monster didn't even eat the creatures; its only aim was to kill everything in sight.

Thaids were vicious creatures, but that was particularly weird and out of the ordinary. Thaids frequently competed for territory, food, and the like, but killing without reason was weird even for them.

After a short distance, the tracks stopped in front of a vast wheat field stretched across several kilometers.

"This isn't good," muttered the private who drove the flying car, "The traces ends here."

"Don't panic. Let's search the surroundings," Roma said. They parked the car, and the team started searching for traces on the ground.