Beast Soul

A group of cars departed from the New World City Police Station, racing through the highway with incredible speed! Detective Lewis was driving the car in front, with Detective Harry sitting right next to him and Commander Niko Larsen sitting in the back seat, wearing a pair of sunglasses as he stared at his phone screen.

"Are you sure about the location?" Detective Harry turned his head around in an uncomfortable position from the front seat of the car and looked straight at Commander Niko Larsen's face as he spoke. "Is that accurate?"

"I assure you, Detective. My gadgets are extremely reliable." Commander Niko Larsen nodded his head as he waved his phone in the air. He still had a beaming smile on his face which made Detective Harry a bit more uncomfortable. He didn't know why he felt that way. After all, the man was simply smiling at him, wasn't he? Or was there something else?

"These gadgets are made exclusively for the military and the special forces by the Weapon Developments Department. They're from the best of the best." Commander Niko continued giving an explanation about the phone in his hand as Detective Harry rubbed his chin with a puzzled expression on his face. 

"But why on earth are you asking me these questions, Detective? Surely, you must've already figured out how much more advanced the military equipment really is." Commander Niko saw the look on Detective Harry's face and asked. He was curious as to why the Detective was asking such a question. After all, they were dealing with supernatural creatures who could rip apart human flesh and bones like cotton candy. They had to have better equipment for almost every situation that they could think of.

"Oh no. I wasn't questioning the accuracy of the equipment made by the military. Not at all. That wasn't my intention, and if you thought that it was, then I apologize for my actions," Detective Harry seemed flustered by the Commander's words and he waved his hands in the air.

"He's not questioning the skills and abilities of the military equipment, Commander.." Detective Lewis interjected into the conversation as he kept his eyes on the road, and Commander Larsen's attention shifted to him. "He's more concerned about the location that you specified just a few minutes ago," Detective Lewis explained the reason for the anxious behavior shown by Harry, and Commander Niko Larsen raised his eyebrows. He was even more puzzled by that answer.

"Oh? And why is that?" The Commander asked, clearly intrigued by the detective's words. He wanted to know more. 

"Well, you see Commander, the location that you mentioned back at the police station is kind of inside a neighborhood called Moonside Neighborhood.." Detective Harry let out a sigh and decided to provide the necessary explanation to Commander Niko Larsen, who was clearly searching for answers. 

"Yes, I saw that. What of it?" Commander Larsen was confused. What was so special about this neighborhood?

"The Moonside Neighborhood is actually one of the rare locations of New World City that wasn't allowed to be rebuilt and restructured as part of the improved city model." Detective Lewis said in a hushed tone. Detective Harry nodded his head as he spoke, "It wasn't that they weren't allowed.. but more like they tried to modify and reconstruct, but were faced with resistance from the residents.."

"And these residents are the problem? Is that what you're worried about?" Commissioner Larsen asked while he snapped his fingers. 

Both the detectives nodded their heads in unison in response to the Commander's question. 

"The residents of the Moonside Neighborhood were part of the Malkalian dynasty, and most of the older people who still live there did in fact witness and take part in the Great War." Detective Harry gulped down his saliva before continuing, "And they definitely didn't fight on the winning side.."

"Wait a minute, did you say that they were Malkalians?" Commander Larsen's eyes widened with shock and surprise before it was slowly replaced by a look of intrigue. "Interesting…" He whispered softly. "Very interesting.."

"And the worst part is that they have connections in almost every section of the society; from small business owners to wealthy politicians. They go way back, and because of that, their influence is incredible," Detective Lewis clicked his tongue as he spoke. It seems that he wasn't too keen on talking about the Malkalians.

"And.. do they.. you know.. still practice the Malkalian rituals?" Commander Larsen asked, and the two detectives looked at each other for a split second before turning away.

"Not that we know of. But you have to understand that not many people have much access to the neighborhood because of how closely guarded the community is." Detective Harry responded after a few seconds of silence.

"But you're suspicious.." Commander Larsen nodded his head, as though he had understood how complicated the situation was. 

".... Anyways, that's why I think that this might be a difficult mission." Detective Harry said, and Commander Larsen tilted his head to the side, looking out through the window as he spoke, "Oh, I understand, Detective.."

He then tilted his head to the other side and cracked his neck before continuing, "... But do not worry, because no matter how difficult the situation might be, the military always has a way to push through it."

He let out a soft chuckle as he finished his words and then shifted his gaze back to the window, looking outside as they zoomed past other vehicles.

Detective Harry glanced at Detective Lewis, who glanced back at him for a split second before readjusting his gaze back onto the highway.

They both didn't know why, but they could feel that something was off.

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"My fellow followers! Do ingrain the image of this sacred place into your minds this instant!" Chief Henry turned around and yelled out loudly, and the crowd immediately closed their eyes shut. "Think about the intruders and how their reckless actions might have destroyed these beautiful structures that we so adore.." Chief Henry began to mutter under his breath in a hushed tone as he leaned forward, his face right next to one of the skulls on the pyramid, staring at it as though he was completely obsessed with it. 

"It doesn't matter who they are…" Chief Henry pulled his upper body back as he spoke. "It doesn't matter what their intentions were.." He narrowed his eyes and turned around, facing the crowd with a serious expression and continued, "To enter into the sacred space as an outsider is the same as desecration of the space. These people have disrespected our sacred beliefs, and they will pay for it.. with their blood!"

"Blood! Blood! Blood!" The crowd roared loudly as soon as Chief Henry finished his words, their eyes burning with anger and hatred!

BOOM!

Their loud cheering was cut short as all of a sudden, a loud explosive noise echoed throughout the cavern, and the ground began to shake violently, causing many within the crowd of people to lose their balance and stumble down onto the ground.

"Ahhh! Lookout!" " Be careful and hold on to something!" "What the hell? What was that noise?"

The crowd began to murmur loudly, and Chief Henry raised his eyebrows with a confused and anxious expression on his face. He then tilted his head and turned his gaze towards Peter, who shrugged his shoulders in response.

"Everyone, please calm down!" The Chief then shifted his attention towards the crowd of people and increased his voice, which made the group of panic-stricken people immediately turn silent. 

The crowd then turned their gaze towards the Chief, who was quite satisfied with how quickly the people listened to his words. He said, "Very good. As you can see, whatever that loud noise was, it's gone now. Of course, we don't know when it might happen again, so just be extremely careful."

"Yes, Chief!" The crowd replied in unison once again, as they always do. But this time, Chief Henry realized that the enthusiasm had been greatly reduced from the chants, and he furrowed his eyebrows. Perhaps they were feeling scared because of the incident just now?

"Don't be discouraged my fellow believers!" Henry stretched out his hands as he yelled out once again. "This must be the work of those intruders! We'll find them and we'll take care of them, and soon, everything will return to normal, and we'll have saved our sacred space!"

"Glory to Hasurik!" The group cheered loudly once again, and this time, the enthusiasm seemed to be back to the height that it was before.

The group was then led by Garry once again, and they reached another layer inside the cavern, and this time, the eyes of the crowd widened, as expressions of shock and confusion filled their faces.

"What the hell are those things?" Linda asked with a disgusted expression as she placed her hand over her mouth and asked. Even the Chief was shocked by what he just saw.

"Did you have any clue what these things are?" Peter asked Chief Henry, who shook his head and gulped down the saliva in his mouth as he stared at the dozens of large egg shaped objects that filled the area. "What in god's name was going on down here?"