Chapter 29

Castiel found Ethan unconscious in the training forest, he hurriedly carried the younger one on his back and brought him back to their dorm room. Taking utmost care of the red-haired boy. He drenched a cloth in cold water and squeezed it, placing the cold cloth on the younger one's forehead. 

"You're always like this on your birthday." Castiel whispered pitifully, gently ruffling through Ethan's hair. He suddenly pushed himself off the bed and swiftly grabbed a knife from one of the drawers, he flicked his wrist and the blade sliced through the air and the open window. Someone was outside.

Very cautiously, Castiel approached the intruder. However, it seemed like instead of a human being, he had struck a pigeon instead. Strange, he figured. There were rarely live animals underground, especially not an animal that relies on flight. The only creature he knew that lived underground freely with wings was a mammal, the bat. 

He grabbed the pigeon by it's head and saw the blade punctured into its wings and through it's entire body. What caught his attention instead was a small rolled piece of paper tied to the pigeon's leg. He swiped the paper off the leg of the dead pigeon, finding the bird now useless. He flung its dead body down the building. Some animals would clean the trash later.

Castiel sat down on a chair and slowly unfolded the thin rolled piece of paper. There on the scrap of paper was an unwelcoming message. 'There's a traitor in Alpha. Stay safe. See you soon. -Z.' It was short and unelaborated. But it was enough to understand the danger. Just by the letter, Z he could tell it was Zephyr. The paper was so small and left little space for a sweeter message. It had to be brief. It felt bittersweet.

Castiel  wanted to inform Ethan about Zephyr's message but it would be better to keep it a secret for now. Telling Ethan now about the traitor would only make him more stressed out than he already was. it was a more rational decision to keep silent based on all the consequences it'd bring. He reluctantly folded the paper and stuffed it inside his pocket. A traitor, whoever could it be? 

The next day came and Ethan was already awake and haggard. No matter how long he slept, he always felt tired. Left with no choice, he got prepared first while he waited for Castiel to wake up on his own. When Ethan got out of the shower he was met with a guilty stare.

"Oh. You're awake." Castiel acknowledged. Sounding shock and scared. 

Ethan furrowed his eyebrow and walked over, his footsteps silent. "What are you hiding?" was the first question he asked. He had caught on. As expected of someone so sharp. He knew every and each one of Castiel's habits. When he was hiding something or lying, his hands would be interlocked and his eyes would be downturned. The eyebags also gave it away, he was worrying about something overnight and hadn't managed to sleep well.

Castiel turned away and attempted to run off and head to the shower without a word but he froze up. He could feel daggers stabbing into his back. Ethan was not letting him off like this, he knew. He had to lie. How? Without getting caught? The nervousness that was building up was not helping the situation at all. He scratched his chin and let out a nervous laugh. "I ate..your cake I prepared for your birthday last night. After all, you were asleep and I couldn't let it spoil." it wasn't a lie. It also acted as a good substitute. He couldn't let the real truth out now, not now. He couldn't.

There was a soft laugh coming from Ethan. He didn't expect Castiel would get so nervous over something so small. He nodded and apologised for getting so worked up.

Castiel headed for the shower and when he heard the door outside click close, he slammed his fist on the side of the sink. Too close. This was a secret he had to keep. Or else it'd bring more trouble than joy. He wet his hair and combed his fringe down. Then left with his usual uniform. He collected his daily breakfast from one of the stalls and headed for the training centre. 

He walked in on Ethan and Adan fighting with their fangs bared. Their movements were unique. None of them fought head on. It seemed like they were having 1v1 battles as everyone stood by the sidelines and watched them with interest. It was a great method of training to understand more about all your team member's fighting styles in order to adapt to them and work better together in grave situations. 

The fight continued on, everyone backed off even more when an explosion happened and dust flew. Ethan seemed to be moving faster with every move he gave. However, Adan matched up to his rhythm. He was a talented guy who was well known for his sustainability. The guy snapped his finger and an arrow appeared from the side. Ethan blew up exploded the arrowfloating object before it could even get close to him. Both of them had adapted to each other's attack far too well. It was going to end in a draw.

Ethan fired multiple explosions, his aim starting to get increasingly more accurate, it kept missing his opponent by a small inch. He stayed calm, turning around as if he was on a carousell. Adan footwork was bizarre, it was as if he was dancing on lava while he circled in on his clueless prey. 

The fight has been going on for 23 minutes, everyone has gotten too invested to stop watching now, their eyes focused on the match as if they were enchanted. Castiel was confused as to why Ethan wasn't fighting like he normally would. Going in strong and aggressive, he was laying low. It was suspicious. What was he planning? 

"Oh." Castiel gasped when he looked out of the box. He stepped back a bit for his safety. It was going to be a large blast, considering how big the orb was up there. The strange and laid back actions were a distraction to keep all eyes on them. Ethan knew what he was doing, alright.

BOOOM! The whole arena 'stage' exploded. Debris and fragments of the stage went flying but everyone managed to defend themselves except for the target of the vicious attack. Adan laid in the middle of the floor with his arms and legs spreaded out in defeat, he facepalmed himself and laughed. "I lost, fair and square." he declared, wiping the blood off his scalp while he winced.

Ethan kneeled down and offered a helping hand to Adan with his signature smile. He didn't seem surprised that he had won at all. He was testing something new. He was playing with the predator. It was an effortless victory.

Castiel quickly forgot about the important fight as his eyes scanned the Alpha group. A group composed of the 8 most talented individuals of Thanatos. Their firepower combined together was extraordinary, it could battle against the army.

 Felix, a prideful but talented individual, his power of wind makes him top tiered. His specialty was long ranged fights and sneak attacks. 

Adan, a calm and sneaky person, not someone you would wish to make an enemy of. He's oddly nice to everyone around him, making him a popular character. His power is telekinesis, his control over objects is unfathomable. 

A rational and composed personality, Quinn. He often took the lead for groups due to his quick thinking in dire situations. He's well trusted among members of Thanatos. Instead of his fire power making him strong and 'undefeatable', it was his well polished swordsmanship. Only three people have beaten him in a fight before. Killan and Draven. And the intruder that destroyed him yesterday in an instant.

Castiel and Ethan were in the team. It was obvious they would be. The moment they joined Thanatos they had gained quite a reputation due to their high S ranks and the fact they were from the labs. Their strength were not to be underestimated either even if they were the youngest juniors in Thanatos.

Killan has been assigned to group Alpha as the mission was more than dangerous. He was there to keep the whole team in check, he rarely attended practice as he didn't need any. His power was one of the most feared, his darkness has no limits to what it could do. If there was a limit, Killan hadn't reached it yet no matter how far he went.

Xavier, the person who wields the dark shortsword who fought Castiel head on years ago was also in Alpha. He had a nasty glare but was often quiet and on his own, training. He was cooperative most of the time. He didn't seem to hold grudges. His power was poison. If he managed to graze someone with whatever weapon of his choice, he would be able to activate his power, the poison deadliness increases depending on the extent of the injury.

The other person had not been revealed. Or it had been undecided. Draven paid the questions about the spot from his members no mind. He always dismissed it with a confident look. He had something spectacular in mind. He had no plans to fail this mission. The building that they'll infiltrate shall stand no chance at all. He had to retrieve the important information no matter what. It'll be more than beneficial to get a head start on the malicious government. Just a few more days.