28 Real Fight Begins

[Thornhollow Forest, United Nations Expedition Team]

The lifeless body of Cerberus is now lying in the middle of the forest. The whole battle lasted an hour and the soldiers were clearly tired.

Sergeant Nicholas was also exhausted by the battle which made him open his limiter. He was sweating heavily as he was sitting near Cerberus' stomach then his companions approached him.

"Is it over?"

This is the question posed by Private Vasques as he gets off from the armored jeep. Sergeant Satsuki faced palm from the Privates' stupid question.

"Vasques don't raise a flag!" Lieutenant Rina shouted.

Everyone laughed at what Lieutenant Rina said while Ariel just tilted her head. She clearly does not understand what the soldiers meant.

"Reporting!"

The Commander of Sector One approached Lieutenant Rina and salutes. He opened his wrist terminal then he stated the casualty report.

"Zero KIA, Three WIA, Zero MIA," The commander clicked his wrist terminal and began scrolling "Only one vehicle was damaged from the magic projectiles and most of the IFV only got scratches from the codename: Hellhounds"

"Compile everything and report to the Headquarters," Lieutenant Rina nodded at the Commander's report "You may leave"

"Acknowledged!"

When the Commander left, the Lieutenant walked towards the armored jeep to rest. When she opened the door, she saw Ariel sitting on the side of the jeep. She sat down and asked Ariel about the prince.

"I did not know that Prince Edward was hiding his talent and strength"

"Yes, he's hiding it. When he saw the ability of you 'You-en' people he thought that the era of swordsmen had ended and he felt useless against your black staves," Ariel sat down next to the Lieutenant and continued "I think he did not expect that he would reveal his secret immediately".

Lieutenant Rina nodded at Ariel's explanation. She recalled the Prince's elegant movements when he used his sword. It was pretty and dazzling.

"When we met you, why were you wounded? With Prince Edward's strength you could have fought the bandits."

"We were exhausted from our journey and were outnumbered when they showed up. We could not fight in that condition so we decided to just run and luckily, you found us"

The two enjoyed their conversation for a while. Then Lieutenant Rina opened her wrist terminal to check the time. Twenty minutes have passed since they began their conversation.

She said goodbye to Ariel and opened the door of the armored jeep. She returned back to her team to check Cerberus.

She saw the Marines examining the body of the lifeless Cerberus. They were marveled in awe at its plumage and couldn't explain its rigidity and endurance. Everyone's eyes widened when Prince Edward tried to enter the Cerberus' stomach.

"What are you going to do?"

"Give me a moment, I'll take something important"

Lieutenant Rina tried to run towards Prince Edward to stop him but before she could get close, the prince had already gone inside. She couldn't do anything so she just let him go and waited for the Prince to come out.

Minutes passed and finally the prince came out from Cerberus' stomach. His body and clothes were still clean as if they were still new but it was not the one that made everyone surprised, it was the strange gem he was holding.

It was big as a hand and emitted black aura that even non-magic users could feel the dense mana that it was exuding. This gem can't be compared with the common mana stones they had seen.

"What is that thing?" Lieutenant Rina approached the smiling Prince while pointing to the object he was holding.

"Dark stone !," The Prince remarked full of vigor. "One of the rarest types of mana stones that only a demonic beast can produce"

When the Lieutenant was about to touch the Dark Stone, it suddenly shone bright then it fell from the Prince's hand. The Prince knelt on his knees while gasping for air - he seemed exhausted.

"What's the matter?" Lieutenant Rina knelt down to support the prince.

"Mana exhaustion" The Prince took a deep breath then spoke again "I did not think it will suck a third of my mana"

Lieutenant Rina nodded at the sweating Prince and called for Private Vasques.

"Vasques take the prince to the armored jeep to rest"

"Yes ma'am"

Lieutenant Rina moved the Prince's arms on Private Vasques' shoulder and supported him towards the armored jeep. Ariel came out from the car worried about Prince Edward's condition. She gave a bottle of water to the Prince which he drank then he immediately rested.

Meanwhile, Lieutenant Rina wonders how to secure the dark stone without touching it. She called a Marine who immediately approached her.

"Sergeant MacDonogh here! Why is it ma'am?"

"Get any container, capsule or case that can hold this dark stone," Lieutenant Rina looks at the Sergeant. Her eyes were serious. "Remember, don't touch that thing directly. We still don't know what that thing can do"

"Ma'am Yes Ma'am !"

Sergeant Macdonogh quickly left at the Lieutenant's command. When he returned, he carried a large jar with a thong to take the dark stone. They were still uncertain what it can do to humans without mana.

When he secured the dark stone, he immediately wrapped it in a rag and gave it to Lieutenant Rina.

"Higher-ups will be happy with this discovery!," Lieutenant Rina grinned "Okay, rest for thirty minutes and pack your belongings. We will leave at exactly 1600 hours"

All the Marines happily returned towards their ruined lunch. The ones who finished their food went to find something useful from the scrap metals left by the exploded IFV.

After thirty minutes, all the Marines finished their lunch and began packing their camping gear and returned to their IFV's. They started the IFV's engine and went towards Aster City.

--------

United Nations Colony, Solum City, UN Airfield

Strong winds from the noisy rotor of the descending SC - 07 Eagle can be heard at the UN Airfield. It was accompanied by Wolf squadron aboard by their F / A - 02 Fox while couple of ground crews on the runways began their work.

Aboard the Sky Carrier was a man in his middle age. It was Doctor Elmidor wearing his neat lab coat. He was accompanied by Marines which were sent to defend the fortress against the Dark-horse Bandits.

Doctor Elmidor looked at the side of the plane where several sacks of mana stone were given by Prince Edward. It was hidden under the fortress where only the Royal Family knows. Descending from the sky the carrier opened its large door which resembled a shark.

"How was the trip doctor?"

Doctor Elmidor was surprised at the person who greeted him, it was none other than Major Tae-Joon. He was smiling at him.

"Same as usual but compared to Earth you can see the beautiful sceneries from the sky"

"I also want to see that when I have my rest day"

"Hahahahaha" "Hahahahaha"

The two laughed at their conversation. Suddenly, a child arrived towards the Major's place.

"Major what is this child doing here?"

Doctor Elmidor's eyes blinked at the child. When he finally saw it's appearance, his eyes widened in shock. It had long ears and a nose, most of all its skin was green!

"A GOBLIN??"

"You're right doctor," Major Taejoon nodded.

"How?"

"We were amazed at the goblin's IQ which is above 120. If you compared them to humans back on Earth they are considered ' Geniuses'. That is why we decided to train them and their Affinity as Engineers was high"

"Did anyone object to this plan?"

"Most of the higher-ups did. But when they saw the Goblins were doing an excellent job, they decided to continue their training"

"Are there any chances that the goblins might revolt against us?" Doctor Elmidor was still skeptical against the goblins.

"It is possible but there is a greater chance that they will stay here in Solum as citizens. When they saw the machines, they were dumbstruck as if they had seen a god"

The Doctor was still cautious - a fantasy creature known for being stupid had an affinity as engineers. He could not believe it.

"Zegg reporting!" A goblin named Zegg salutes the Major. It was wearing a standard engineer uniform and the only thing was different was the size.

"Continue" Major Tae-Joon nodded signaling the goblin to continue his report.

"Machine god under maintenance. Need two hours for check and repair" Zegg happily reported as he jumped.

"All right! You can leave now" Zegg quickly returned towards the hangar where the other goblins were also trained as engineers.

Doctor Elmidor smiled in amazement at what he saw when a black Limousine stopped in front.

"What are you waiting for Doctor! Let's go to your new laboratory !" Major Tae-Joon invited the doctor to come in.

Major Tae-Joon opened the car door and sat on its soft seat. When Doctor Elmidor also sat, the Major tapped the limousine's driver indicating that they were ready to leave.

The engine of the car soundlessly started and started to move from the Airfield. It was obvious on Doctor Elmidor's face that he was comfortable in his seat. When they got out from the Airfield's gate he was surprised at how much the city had changed.

"Wow! Solum has changed a lot in just a few weeks," Doctor Elmidor looked out from the car window. Amazed at what he saw "I did not immediately recognize the whole city"

The Doctor's comment was indeed right. Solum City's appearance can be compared to Tokyo or New York City. The only difference was only few civilians were walking and business establishments were built. Almost all soldiers were the only roaming the flat road as one-third of the colony's first wave were military personnels.

It was a quick trip and they immediately reached the two concrete buildings. It was colored in white like the doctor's lab coat and full of glass, obviously newly made.

"This is where my real fight begins" Doctor Elmidor came out from the limousine while readjusting his lab coat.

Meanwhile in the sky, a group of Natives riding their mythical beast were also heading towards Solum City.