Let's call him Arata

*Haru*

"Is there any kind of development?" I asked Declan.

"Ah! Perfect timing. Do you remember the guy called Reus who guarded the Union's Bridge? He was in charge of the hospital next to it. He had the Salan ability that could turn objects invisible. Does that ring a bell?" He answered.

I was in Declan's office, in the European Union's capital. Vision City was a months walking distance away from Central Superio, and only the most important people stayed here. Politicians, commanders, sergeants and so on. Since I brought back the communication scrolls, managing this Land became much easier. We didn't need to wait several days to get intel anymore.

Declan's office walls were all white and were decorated with pictures of coal miners on some places. He sat behind a glass desk and on a fake leather chair.

'Why fake leather?' I wondered.

On his desk, several reports from all around the European Union. He handed me one of those reports and waited for me to answer his question.

"The one who babysitted my groups horses? Yeah I do. What about him?" I answered.

"Well, Haru. He was killed by someone that seemed to be from the Asian Empire. This Asian guy, let's call him Arata, killed 2 of Reus' scouts and was later captured by the rest of the group. Of course Reus put this guy through special treatment for killing his only daughter, but he also tried getting some information out of him." He explained and paused.

"And? What did they find out?"

"Here comes the plot-twist. One of the scouts, an Asian girl named Tsuki Shizukana, betrayed Reus and freed Arata. In the first report, it was said that Arata had a Salan ability that allowed him to exceed in physical strength. With that in mind, listen and read the next part. When Tsuki freed Arata, she went to the hospital's weaponry and brought Arata's Katanas and clothes back. Then, one half of the hospital collapsed, killing dozens of people in the process."

"Did he not break from this special treatment? I can't see anything about him leaking something. Do you think he is part of some kind of special military force?"

"He must be, otherwise it's hard to explain how he was able to withstand days of torture. So, they assumed his Salan ability and that led to the hospital collapsing. You might ask yourself if that girl Tsuki may have caused this collapse. After reading about her, I can say she does not have a Salan ability, unless she hid her awakening, of course."

I read through the report while Declan blabbered on and acted like a smart-ass.

"Killed 2 guards from above with a long blade, according to the autopsy report." I read out aloud.

"Here it is again, how did he kill the guards from above? They didn't even struggle. That means that he must've jumped high enough to not be detected by them. Now, Haru, this is the most exciting part. Based on Reus' reports, he uses his Salan ability to turn weapons like spears and spikes invisible and uses them as traps, he also turns things like cars and shields invisible in case he needs to defend himself. Arata was probably informed about Reus' ability, but even Tsuki didn't know the details of Reus' 'castle' as he called it."

"When Reus was found, he was buried under the objects he usually turned invisible. The autopsy report shows that he was tortured to death, presumably by the Asian escapee."

I looked up at Declan. Now we were both trying to find out what kind of Salan ability allowed him to do the things he did.

"Let's look at what we already have at hand. We know that Arata is tough as nails because he withstood torture, he might be responsible for destroying the hospital and killing innocent people, tortured Reus to death and wields a Katana, so he might also be proficient in swordsmanship."

"Is there a more detailed version of the guards and Reus' autopsy?" I asked.

"There is. Here let me... Ah! Here you go."

"Steven Meckler. Carotid artery cut. Cause of death: Blood loss. Jonah Renner. Deep stab wound. Entry point from his right shoulder. Several organs damaged. Neck snapped. Cause of death: Broken neck (Possible survival until blood loss or organ failure occurred). Reus Erikson. Spear entrance wound on right shoulder, exit wound, right armpit. Deep cuts on whole body, most fatal one on the chest. Signs of torture. Jaw-muscles, ears, fingers and toes cut off and eyes stabbed out. Cause of death: Crushed by falling debris." I read.

"Oof! Arata is not playing, I'm telling you. Why did you need their autopsy report anyway?" Declan asked.

"To see if he's skilled with the blade."

"Is he?"

"He is. Killing 2 guards fast enough without alarming the other, and being as precise as possible is quite hard."

"Arata is probably back in the Asian Empire by now. He will remain a mystery until he shows up again. And when he does, I want you to take care of him. We lost good soldiers because of him." Declan ordered.

"Understood."

"You can leave now, I can feel Briony's Mana piercing through the door."

I turned to leave. When I exited Declan's office, Briony was waiting for me. I looked for Silva too, but he was probably somewhere, alone, reading a book or whatever he does when he's alone.

"What did you speak about, huh? A new mission? A new threat? Or did he order you to stay here and train more?" Briony asked.

"I would never dare to bore the Green Princess with useless information." I teased.

"Shut up! I hate that name. I don't even understand how it started to spread."

She got angry. I enjoyed teasing her. Since I'd saved her in Central Superio, she never left my side, which annoyed me at times. I tried to convince her that she didn't owe me anything because Declan had repaid his debt to me long ago. With Declan's help, I became the strongest Bearer in the European Union. If I needed sparring partners, Declan would order his underlings to find worthy opponents. If I needed gems, he would send carriages full of them. When I needed a sword, Declan found the best blacksmith there was.

'With Declan by my side, I can achieve anything.'

"Haru, they ask for your presence down at the entrance. There is this one girl you could see on television before the impact, I believe her name is Aurora or something." Silva spoke through his telepathic connection.

The problem with his telepathy is that you could only receive information, not exchange it. The best thing to do was to go down and see for myself what Silva meant.

"Did you hear Silva speak?" I asked Briony.

"I did. Let's go. I know that woman. Seer Aurora, smart and talented woman who was also the youngest person to fly to space."

***

When we arrived at the Union HQ's entrance, I could see the girl named Aurora clothed in a space suit. Around her, many of our soldiers that were stationed in some parts of the Land.

"Sir!" The soldiers greeted me.

"What the fuck is going on?" I asked.

One of the soldiers stepped forward. He was a young guy with blonde hair.

"A capsule fell out the sky, Sir. When I went to look, I found her inside." He explained and pointed at the girl.

After looking at her a bit more carefully, I could see that she was barely conscious, taking careful breaths breaths of air.

"What did you do after that?" I started interrogating.

"Sir! We captured her and put her in handcuffs. When she didn't respond to our questions, we were ordered to bring her here for further questioning."

"Can't you see her complexion?! She is dehydrated. Didn't you give her some damn water?" I scolded.